Medical Advisory Team Resources

PPE conservation for hospitals and healthcare facilities: NM hospitals and healthcare facilities should immediately begin maximal PPE conservation practices (if not already enacted); and, this MAT assessment outlines specific guidance on conservation approaches, practices and protocols.

Antibody testing guidelines for the public: Advertisements and news stories about blood antibody tests to detect past COVID-19 infection are becoming more common. Blood antibody tests for COVID-19 are different than the tests done with nose or throat swabs. Swab tests can help determine who is at risk for developing symptoms of COVID-19 or spreading the disease by detecting the virus in the person’s respiratory system. Blood tests, however, tests for past viral infections by testing not for the virus itself, but for the antibodies a person’s body produced to fight the virus. And, importantly, not all antibody tests are reliable. In this assessment, the MAT highlights some of the differences between these two types of tests.

The MAT presents a framework for resuming medically necessary surgical procedures in hospital and ambulatory surgical centers settings, including principles, timing and phasing, prioritization and scheduling, patient screening and testing, facility considerations, PPE supplies, and reporting requirements.

The MAT presents a framework for resuming non-emergent and medically necessary care and procedures in medical offices, including principles, PPE supplies, facility considerations, patient screening, and reporting requirements.

The MAT has revised its original 4/9 assessment following release of NIH treatment guidelines and additional guidance from the FDA. The NIH guidelines conclude that there is insufficient clinical data to recommend either for against using hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) for treatment of COVID-19. The MAT reccomends individual providers may consider treatment of inpatients using the emergency use access (EUA) approval guidelines provided by the FDA, with the understanding that clinical data regarding HCQ in the treatment of COVID-19 is limited.

Antibody testing overview: Presently, the MAT only recommends serologic COVID-19 antibody testing in the following settings: 1) subset of acutely ill patients; 2) focused epidemiologic surveillance during the ongoing outbreak and post-outbreak in vulnerable populations; 3) general epidemiologic surveillance; and, 4) as a tool in studying long-term outcomes in individuals with symptomatic and asymptomatic COVID-19.

The MAT reccomends the following guidelines for the treatment of COVID-19 associated coagulopathies: 1) Administer standard-dose thromboprophylaxis for all hospitalized patients, unless contraindicated; 2) Intermediate-dose thromboprophylaxis should be administered for all critically ill patients with sequential compression devices, unless contraindicated; 3) Sequential compression devices should be used on all patients with a contraindication to coagulation; and, 4) Standard therapeutic anticoagulation should be administered for strongly suspected VTE episodes that cannot be confirmed with imaging, unless contraindicated.

The MAT recommends the standarized treatment guidelines for COVID-19 patients provided by the Society for Critical Care Medicine and the Infectious Disease Society of America be used at acute care facilities.

Antibody testing guidelines for healthcare providers: Providers should consider COVID-19 antibody testing for patients in certain circumstances, such as for patients with acute respiratory tract disease as a complement to NAAT, especially in patients in whom COVID-19 disease is suspected and NAAT results are negative, and in patients with resolved serious upper respiratory tract infection that occurred during the pandemic. Additionally, antibody should not be used as an indication of resolved infection or protection from future infection. Further, providers should fully inform patients of issues associated with testing (e.g. false negative/positives) and perform tests using assays from reputable companies.

Children, like adults, should also follow social distancing guidelines put in place since they may be more likely asymptomatic and infected with COVID-19; activities such as organized sports, school gatherings should continue to be avoided. It is also important to address the social and emotional needs of children as some recent studies have shown social isolation and economic pressures due to COVID-19 can increase child abuse, teen suicide, and substance use among children.