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WHO / COVID-19 CLINICAL CARE GUIDANCE
STORY: WHO / COVID-19 CLINICAL CARE GUIDANCE
TRT: 1:42
SOURCE: WHO
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH /NATS
DATELINE: 2 SEPTEMBER 2020, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
FILE, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
1. Exterior shot, WHO HQ
2 SEPTEMBER 2020, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
2. Wide shot, Dr Diaz with reporter
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Janet Diaz, Head of Clinical Care, Health Emergencies Programme, WHO:
“So today we are publishing our living guidance on corticosteroids for COVID-19 and we have two simple recommendations. One, we have a strong recommendation to use corticosteroids in patients who are severely ill, so very sick, severe illness or critical illness and the second recommendation or second suggestion is not to use corticosteroids in patients who have mild disease. And the concern with mild disease is that actually, it may cause harm.”
4. Close up, papers in Dr Diaz’s hands
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Janet Diaz, Head of Clinical Care, Health Emergencies Programme, WHO:
“So, we were able to pool data from eight clinical trials. a total of over 7000 patients were randomized with corticosteroids or usual care and in that evidence synthesis we found the estimated effect that you would have nine fewer deaths per 100 patients and if you translate this, it would take treating 14 patients to save one life. So, this is an important reduction, a reduction in mortality and a lifesaving intervention.”
6. Closeup, Dr Diaz’s face
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Janet Diaz, Head of Clinical Care, Health Emergencies Programme, WHO:
“We don’t recommend patients to use it as self-medication, it should be done with a supervision of a physician, not for prophylaxis and only for severe disease.”
8. Wide shot, Dr Diaz with reporter
World Health Organization (WHO) published guidance for clinicians and health care decision-makers recommending the use of corticosteroids in patients with severe cases of COVID-19, while warning against its use in mild cases or as prophylaxis.
“We have a strong recommendation to use corticosteroids in patients who are severely ill, so very sick, severe illness or critical illness,” said Dr Janet Diaz, Head of Clinical Care of WHO’s Health Emergencies Programme.”The second recommendation or second suggestion is not to use corticosteroids in patients who have mild disease.”
“The concern with mild disease is that actually, it may cause harm,” she explained.
This guidance was developed in collaboration with the non-profit Magic Evidence Ecosystem Foundation (MAGIC), which provided methodologic support to develop and disseminate living guidance for COVID-19 drug treatments.
Work began on 22 June when the RECOVERY trial published a preliminary report on the impact of corticosteroids. To supplement the results, WHO partnered with investigators of seven trials on corticosteroids to conduct a meta-analysis of these trials, in order to rapidly provide additional evidence to build on RECOVERY data and inform guidance development. The guidance was thus informed by combining data from all these randomized trials of systemic corticosteroids for COVID-19.
“We were able to pool data from eight clinical trials. A total of over 7000 patients were randomized with corticosteroids or usual care and in that evidence synthesis we found the estimated effect that you would have nine fewer deaths per 100 patients,” Dr Diaz said.
Corticosteroids are listed in the WHO model list of essential medicines, readily available globally at a low cost. WHO encourages countries to maintain sufficient stocks of corticosteroids to treat COVID-19 and the other disease for which they are effective, while not maintaining excessive stocks which could deny other countries access.
“We don’t recommend patients to use it as self-medication, it should be done with a supervision of a physician, not for prophylaxis and only for severe disease,” WHO’s Dr Diaz said.
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