COVID-19 rapid guideline: gastrointestinal and liver conditions treated with drugs affecting the immune response

Review
London: National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE); 2021 Apr 9.

Excerpt

The purpose of this guideline is to maximise the safety of children and adults who have gastrointestinal or liver conditions treated with drugs affecting the immune response during the COVID-19 pandemic. It also aims to protect staff from infection and enable services to make the best use of NHS resources.

On 9 April 2021, we updated recommendations on treatment considerations for patients not known to have COVID-19 to take into account COVID-19 vaccination status.

This guideline focuses on what you need to stop or start doing during the pandemic. Follow the usual professional guidelines, standards and laws (including those on equalities, safeguarding, communication and mental capacity), as described in making decisions using NICE guidelines.

This guideline is for:

  1. health and care practitioners

  2. health and care staff involved in planning and delivering services

  3. commissioners.

The recommendations bring together:

  1. existing national and international guidance and policies

  2. advice from specialists working in the NHS from across the UK. These include people with expertise and experience of treating patients for the specific health conditions covered by the guidance during the current COVID-19 pandemic.

NICE has also produced a COVID-19 rapid guideline for children and young people who are immunocompromised, which should be read alongside this guideline.

We developed this guideline using the interim process and methods for developing rapid guidelines on COVID-19 in response to the rapidly evolving situation. We will review and update the recommendations as the knowledge base develops using the interim process and methods for guidelines developed in response to health and social care emergencies.

Publication types

  • Review