Managing COVID-19 symptoms (including at the end of life) in the community: summary of NICE guidelines
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) in collaboration with NHS England and NHS Improvement
Abstract
### What you need to know Although much focus has been on assessing the severity of COVID-19, general practitioners and other community based clinicians also need a working knowledge of symptom management. Symptoms of cough, fever, and breathlessness can be highly distressing even in those who do not have severe disease. Also, treatments for symptoms in severe COVID-19 will be needed for patients whose advance care plan or advance decision to refuse treatment includes a decision not to escalate treatment beyond home based care. This article summarises key points from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) COVID-19 rapid guideline on managing symptoms (including at the end of life) in the community.1 The guideline is part of a series of rapid guidelines on COVID-19, developed in collaboration with NHS England and NHS Improvement using interim process and methods.2 Recommendations are based on evidence and expert opinion, and have been verified as far as possible by NICE. ### How this guideline summary was prepared This summary is based on the version of the guidance published on 3 April 2020 and has been prepared by The BMJ’s clinical editors. Readers should refer to the full guideline on the NICE website for the latest version of the guidance (https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng163) because recommendations will be reviewed and updated by NICE as the knowledge base and expert experience develops. Please see the NICE coronavirus page (https://www.nice.org.uk/covid-19) for additional NICE rapid guidelines on COVID-19. ### Communicating with patients and minimising risk