What's new at this update
MHRA authorises use of Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine in 12 to 15 year olds
The UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has extended the authorisation of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine to include 12 to 15 year olds. This follows on from recent authorisations to use the vaccine in this age group in the US and Europe.
The European Medicines Agency has also started evaluating an application to extend the use of the Moderna vaccine to include young people aged 12 to 17 years.
See the Primary prevention section for more information.
Delta variant now dominant in the UK
Public Health England experts now believe that the Delta variant has overtaken the Alpha variant as the dominant SARS-CoV-2 variant in the UK. Early evidence suggests there may be an increased risk of hospitalisation for the Delta variant compared with the Alpha variant, although more data is needed.
See the Aetiology section for more information.
IDSA publishes new guidelines for antigen testing
The Infectious Diseases Society of America has published new guidelines for the use of SARS-CoV-2 antigen tests. Based on current evidence, molecular testing remains the test of choice for diagnosis. However, antigen testing can be used when molecular testing is not readily available or is logistically unfeasible.
See the Investigations section for more information.
NICE does not recommend azithromycin
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has updated its COVID-19 rapid guideline to add a new recommendation on azithromycin. NICE does not recommend azithromycin to treat COVID-19 based on low-certainty evidence. The guideline panel considered that the results from studies of azithromycin for moderate to critical disease in the hospital setting and mild to moderate disease in the community setting showed no meaningful benefit in any of the critical outcomes.
See the Emerging section for more information.
[Figure caption and citation for the preceding image starts]: Number of COVID-19 cases reported weekly by WHO Region, and global deaths, as of 6 June 2021World Health Organization [Citation ends].
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Summary
Definition
History and exam
Other diagnostic factors
- fatigue
- myalgia or arthralgia
- sputum production/expectoration
- chest tightness
- gastrointestinal symptoms
- sore throat
- headache
- dizziness
- neurological symptoms
- ocular symptoms
- rhinorrhoea/nasal congestion
- audio-vestibular symptoms
- chest pain
- cutaneous symptoms
- lower urinary tract symptoms
- haemoptysis
- bronchial breath sounds
- tachypnoea
- tachycardia
- cyanosis
- crackles/rales on auscultation
Risk factors
- contact with probable or confirmed case
- residence/work/travel in location with high risk of transmission
- older age
- male sex
- ethnicity
- residence in a long-term care facility
- presence of comorbidities
- obesity
- cardiovascular disease
- diabetes
- chronic respiratory disease
- chronic kidney disease
- pregnancy
- smoking
- malignancy
- cerebrovascular disease
- solid organ or blood stem cell transplant
- Down's syndrome
- haemoglobin disorders
- hypertension
- dementia
- immunosuppression
- HIV infection
- substance use disorders
- children with certain underlying conditions
- chronic liver disease
- vitamin D deficiency
- proton-pump inhibitor use
- autoimmune disease
- Parkinson's disease
- physical inactivity
- dyslipidaemia
- surgery
- blood groups A and B
- gut dysbiosis
- environmental factors
Diagnostic investigations
1st investigations to order
- real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR)
- pulse oximetry
- ABG
- FBC
- comprehensive metabolic panel
- blood glucose level
- coagulation screen
- cardiac biomarkers
- serum C-reactive protein
- serum erythrocyte sedimentation rate
- serum lactate dehydrogenase
- serum interleukin-6 level
- serum procalcitonin
- serum ferritin level
- serum amyloid A level
- serum creatine kinase and myoglobin
- blood and sputum cultures
- chest x-ray
Emerging tests
- reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP)
- lung ultrasound
- calprotectin
Treatment algorithm
Contributors
Expert advisers
Consultant and Emeritus Professor of Tropical and Infectious Diseases
Royal Liverpool University Hospital and Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine
Liverpool
UK
Disclosures
NJB is partially supported by the National Institute of Health Research Health Protection Unit (NIHR HPRU) in Emerging and Zoonotic Infections at University of Liverpool in partnership with Public Health England (PHE), in collaboration with Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. He is affiliated with Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. The views expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of the NHS, the NIHR, the Department of Health, or PHE.
Senior Clinical Lecturer and Defence Consultant in Infectious Diseases
Royal Liverpool University Hospital and Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine
Liverpool
UK
Disclosures
TEF is a consultant/expert panel member to the World Health Organization, and is funded by the UK Surgeon General, the NHS, and Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. TEF is partially supported by the National Institute of Health Research Health Protection Unit (NIHR HPRU) in Emerging and Zoonotic Infections at University of Liverpool in partnership with Public Health England (PHE), in collaboration with Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. He is affiliated with Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. He has received research grants from the Wellcome Trust, Medical Research Council, and the UK Public Health Rapid Support Team (UK-PHRST). The views expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of the NHS, the NIHR, the Department of Health, or PHE.
H. Barrie Fairley Professor of Critical Care
University Health Network and Interdepartmental Division of Critical Care Medicine
Director
Clinical Epidemiology and Health Care Research
Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation
Dalla Lana School of Public Health
University of Toronto
Chief
Tory Trauma Program
Sunnybrook Hospital
Toronto
Canada
Disclosures
RF declares that he has no competing interests.
Peer reviewers
Professor
Division of Infectious Diseases and International Health
University of Virginia
Charlottesville
VA
Disclosures
WAP declares that he has no competing interests.
Attending Physician
The Fifth Medical Center of PLA General Hospital
Clinical Division and Research Center of Infectious Disease
Beijing
China
Disclosures
XZ declares that he has no competing interests.
Associate Professor in Medicine
Department of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases
Hadassah Hebrew University Medical Center
Jerusalem
Israel
Disclosures
RNP has received research grants from US-Israel Binational Science Foundation, Hebrew University, Rosetrees Trust, and SpeeDx. He is chair of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID) Study Group for Mycoplasma and Chlamydia Infections (ESGMAC). RNP is a consultant for and has stocks in eDAS Healthcare. He is also chairperson of the Israeli Society for Infectious Diseases guidelines committee.
Editors
Section Editor (Infectious Diseases)/Drug Editor, BMJ Best Practice
Disclosures
AM declares that he has no competing interests.
Lead Section Editor, BMJ Best Practice
Disclosures
IC declares that she has no competing interests.
Comorbidities Editor, BMJ Best Practice
Disclosures
JC declares that she has no competing interests.
Expert advisers: comorbidities
Consultant, Older People's Medicine
Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals
NHS Foundation Trust
Norwich
UK
Disclosures
MP is a contributor to the Oxford Textbook of Otolaryngology, Oxford University Press, 2021, having written a chapter about mental capacity law, for which he received no fee. MP is the NHS representative on the board for Norwich Institute for Healthy Ageing (unpaid role). MP has spoken at the International Forum on Quality and Safety in Healthcare virtual conference in November 2020, for which he received no fee. MP has accepted speaker fees and/or travel expenses to deliver lectures from: University of East Anglia, Leicester University (speaker fees only); Astellas Pharma Ltd (speaker fees and travel expenses). MP has accepted travel expenses from Newton Europe to present a joint project conducted by his main employer (Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Trust) and Newton Europe at the NHS Confederation conference (Manchester 2018).
Consultant Renal Physician
Honorary Associate Professor
Nephrology Department
Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
Leeds
UK
Disclosures
AL is Associate Clinical Director of NIHR Leeds In-Vitro Diagnostics Co-operative, Co-Chair of UK Kidney Research Consortium Renal Clinical Study Group, Member of Kidney Research UK Research Grant Committee, Committee Member of NICE Kidney Injury Clinical Guideline Update 2018-20, Committee Member of NICE Diagnostic Assessment for Point of Care Creatinine Testing 2018-19. AL attended the Acute Dialysis Quality Initiative Meeting in San Diego 2018 (accommodation expenses); AL was a speaker at the AKI & CRRT Conference in San Diego 2019 (travel and accommodation expenses), the AKI Conference in Coventry 2019 (travel expenses), and the NIHR AKI and Sepsis Meeting in Leeds 2019 (no expenses).
Professor of Cardiology
Imperial College London (Royal Brompton Hospital)
London
UK
Disclosures
MC is chair of the European Society of Cardiology Digital Health Committee and a trustee of the Atrial Fibrillation Society. He has previously been a non-executive director of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. MC provides consultancy advice to AstraZeneca, Servier, Abbott, Medtronic, Boston Scientific, and Genomics PLC. MC declares that none of these interests is directly related to topics advised on for this project.
Associate Professor (Clinical)
University of Leicester
Honorary Consultant Respiratory Physician
Glenfield Hospital
Leicester
UK
Disclosures
RAE has been reimbursed for a GSK Advisory Board meeting on Physical Activity and Asthma in November 2016, and three Chiesi Education meetings for GPs on COPD care in 2019. RAE received a travel award for ERS 2017 from Chiesi and participated in the GSK clinical experience programme - respiratory in August 2018. RAE participated in the BTS/SIGN guidelines for asthma update 2016 (no fee).
Consultant Physician and Head of Service
Diabetes and Endocrine Centre and the Diabetes Research Unit
Ipswich Hospitals NHS Trust
Ipswich
UK
Disclosures
GR has been paid for advisory board meetings with the following companies: Safoni Aventis, Abbott Diabetes UK, Lilly Diabetes, Bayer. GR has received lecture fees from Safoni Aventis, Abbott Diabetes UK, Lilly Diabetes, Novonordisk, Napp Pharmaceuticals Ltd.
Consultant Liaison Neuropsychiatrist
King’s College Hospital
South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust
Honorary Senior Clinical Lecturer
Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience
King’s College London
London
UK
Disclosures
SP declares that he has no competing interests.
BMJ Best Practice would like to gratefully acknowledge Dr Matthew Jones for his advice on a section of the stroke comorbidity content.
Matthew Jones, MD, FRCP
Consultant Neurologist
Greater Manchester Neurosciences Centre
Salford Royal Foundation Trust
Honorary Senior Lecturer
University of Manchester
Manchester
UK
Disclosures
AA and MJ declare that they have no competing interests.
Peer reviewers: comorbidities
Consultant, Older People's Medicine
Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals
NHS Foundation Trust
Norwich
UK
Disclosures
MP is a contributor to the Oxford Textbook of Otolaryngology, Oxford University Press, 2021, having written a chapter about mental capacity law, for which he received no fee. MP is the NHS representative on the board for Norwich Institute for Healthy Ageing (unpaid role). MP has spoken at the International Forum on Quality and Safety in Healthcare virtual conference in November 2020, for which he received no fee. MP has accepted speaker fees and/or travel expenses to deliver lectures from: University of East Anglia, Leicester University (speaker fees only); Astellas Pharma Ltd (speaker fees and travel expenses). MP has accepted travel expenses from Newton Europe to present a joint project conducted by his main employer (Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Trust) and Newton Europe at the NHS Confederation conference (Manchester 2018).
Consultant Geriatrician
Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Visiting Professor
University of Cumbria
Carlisle
Honorary Clinical Associate Professor
University of Liverpool
Liverpool
UK
Disclosures
AA declares that he has no competing interests.
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