RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 The utility of a local multidisciplinary working group to oversee the establishment of rapidly evolving standards of care and to support trial recruitment during the COVID-19 pandemic
JF Clinical Medicine
JO Clin Med
FD Royal College of Physicians
SP e287
OP e289
DO 10.7861/clinmed.2020-1021
VO 21
IS 3
A1 Giovanni Satta
A1 Taryn Youngstein
A1 Liz Lightstone
A1 Mark Gilchrist
A1 on behalf of the COVID-19 treatment guidelines working group at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust
YR 2021
UL http://www.rcpjournals.org/content/21/3/e287.abstract
AB Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was first identified in December 2019 in Wuhan, China. The first analyses of cases described high numbers of critically ill patients requiring intensive care admission with significant late inflammatory features. By the time the first cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection were diagnosed in the UK, a wide range of drugs were under consideration and it became clear that the input of clinicians covering all organ systems (in particular, infectious diseases, haematology, rheumatology, renal medicine and intensive care) and of expert specialist pharmacists was necessary at the local level. Thus, an expert multidisciplinary (MDT) group within our organisation was convened to offer a standardised approach and robust clinical governance for the treatment of COVID-19 patients admitted to our hospitals and rapidly develop standards of care as evidence evolved. This commentary explores the methods and mechanisms for creating an MDT COVID-19 treatment working group which are applicable to any hospital likely to admit and care for high numbers of COVID-19 patients and demonstrates how the structure and governance of the group allowed for rapid adoption of both dexamethasone and tocilizumab into standard of care as data became available.