The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 278 No 7434 p40
13 January 2007

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News summary

Clinical management of pandemic flu addressed

Guidelines for health professionals on the clinical management of pandemic influenza have been published this month in Thorax (2007;62[Suppl 1]).

The guidelines cover the clinical features of the disease, referral criteria and management of adults and children in hospitals and primary care. They are intended for use if the Department of Health announces that cases of pandemic influenza have been identified in the UK. Although the guidelines are primarily aimed at doctors, they state that all health care practitioners, regardless of individual specialisation, may be involved in the management of patients with influenza should a pandemic occur.

Specifically, they say that as the threshold for hospital admission rises during a pandemic, treatment of patients in the community by other health care professionals, including pharmacists, following these guidelines and using prescription-only medicines via patient group directions will be considered.

Using mathematical projections, the guidelines predict that, over a 15-week period, a typical community pharmacy could see between 891 and 2,145 patients (depending on the population it serves). They recommend that the antiviral of choice is oseltamivir (Tamiflu), which ideally should be offered to every patient over one year of age who has an acute influenza-like illness, fever and presents within 48 hours of the onset of symptoms. Antivirals will be made available to pharmacies, primary care trusts and GP surgeries, they say.

“Pandemic flu: clinical management of patients with an influenza-like illness during an influenza pandemic” has been agreed by experts from the British Infection Society, the British Thoracic Society and the Health Protection Agency, and is published as official UK guidance from the Department of Health for England. Once a pandemic is under way the guidelines will be updated.

A “Primary care operational plan”, which will incorporate clinical management of patients with influenza, management of patient demand, including patients who do not have influenza, and health service delivery plans, is being developed by the DoH. The department is also in the process of updating the UK pandemic influenza contingency plan.