Philadelphia Magazine: How to Take Care of Your Lungs After Breathing Wildfire Smoke
Audreesh Banerjee, MD, an assistant professor of Clinical Medicine and clinical director of Penn’s Asthma Program, provided tips to use when you are exposed to wildfire smoke.
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WHYY: How Wildfire Smoke Affects Your Health, And How to Protect Yourself
Smoke from Canadian wildfires continues to blanket parts of the U.S., including the Philadelphia region, where city health officials issued a ‘code red’ for unhealthy air. Olajumoke Fadugba, MD, FAAAAI, chief of Allergy and Immunology, discussed symptoms residents might experience as a result of the poor air quality, and how to stay safe.
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MedPage Today: Racial Disparities Linked to Length of Sepsis and Respiratory Failure Stays
A new study led by Christopher F. Chesley, MD, MSCE, an associate fellow in Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care, found that racial disparities appeared to be impacting hospital stay duration for sepsis and acute respiratory failure.
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KYW Newsradio: Penn Doctor Shares Post-Earthquake Turkey, Syria Experiences
Nahreen Ahmed, MD, an assistant professor of Pulmonary Medicine, spent 10 days in Syria and Turkey following devastating earthquakes that impacted those countries and left thousands dead. Now back home, Ahmed reflects on how she helped those in need and describes the long road to recovery for the region.
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National Geographic (subscription required): How Liquid Biopsies Have Made It Easier to Treat Cancer
Liquid biopsies are tests that detect traces of disease in a patient’s blood. Jeffrey C. Thompson, MD and Erica Carpenter, MBA, PhD, an assistant professor of Hematology-Oncology and director of the Liquid Biopsy Laboratory, explained how liquid biopsies are being used to help determine treatment for cancer patients.
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WHYY: Inspiring Young Black Men to Practice Medicine
The College of Physicians of Philadelphia announced it’s rolling out a new program to help Black men enter medical school and will partner with the Perelman School of Medicine for its efforts. “It’s almost a truism that every Black male physician that I know wants to give back in some way,” said Horace DeLisser, MD, associate dean for Diversity and Inclusion at PSOM, who will be a mentor with the program. “They want to be able to leverage their journey and their success.”
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Philadelphia Inquirer: HIV Vaccine Trial Ends Early After Results Show It Wasn’t Effective
The Philadelphia Inquirer reported on the ending of a vaccine trial which tested the effectiveness of a vaccine designed to prevent HIV. While trial data showed the vaccine was not effective in preventing infection, Ronald Collman, MD, the director of the Penn Center for AIDS Research, explained why local scientists remain optimistic. Zachary Hall, a trial participant, was also quoted in the piece.
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CBS3: New Treatment for People with COPD, Emphysema at Penn Medicine
Kevin Ma, MD, clinical director of Penn’s Bronchoscopic Lung Volume Reduction Program, talks about a new treatment option for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or emphysema that could be an alternative to lung surgery and transplant. Also featured is patient Brian Murphy, who says the surgery gave him a new lease on life.
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Philadelphia Inquirer: Long COVID Symptoms Still Afflict Those Recovering from a Pandemic Hospitalization
In a story detailing the struggles of recovery for patients with long COVID, Benjamin Abramoff, MD, an assistant professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and director of the Post-COVID Assessment and Recovery Clinic, and Michael Harhay, PhD, an assistant professor of Epidemiology and Pulmonary and Critical Care, were both quoted.
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Penn Medicine News Blog: Bangladesh to Ukraine: Penn Medicine Doctor Brings Life-Saving Tech to Global Conflict Zones
Nahreen Ahmed, MD, MPH, has taught hundreds of clinicians how to use ultrasound equipment in emergency areas, conflict zones, and refugee settlements.
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USA Today: Lung Disease Tests Are Failing Black Patients, Studies Show
Widely used lung function tests often fail to detect lung disease in Black patients, according to research — and experts are calling for new methods of testing. “It's not that race is a meaningful biological variable, but just that there are a number of other environmental protection factors that we're not including, or not controlling for,” said lead author Alexander Moffett, MD, a clinical fellow in the Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care division.
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Healthline: Study Finds HIV May Speed Up the Body’s Aging Process
A new study found that HIV may accelerate cellular aging within two to three years of initial infection. While medical advances have ensured that those living with HIV can live long and healthy lives, medical experts stress that studies like this highlight that HIV is still a virus that shouldn’t be taken lightly. Ronald G. Collman, MD, director of the Penn Center for AIDS Research, who was not affiliated with the study, said research like this is a reminder to avoid complacency
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Becker's Hospital Review: Physician Lounges Are Dying: How Hospitals Now Foster Connection
The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have further encroached on physicians’ ability to interact with colleagues, which can exacerbate burnout. While isolation contributes to burnout, experts say increased connection mitigates it. “One of the most powerful antidotes to burnout is engagement, and it actually doesn’t take a lot of engagement to mitigate burnout,” explainedLisa Bellini, MD, senior vice dean for Academic Affairs.
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Philadelphia Inquirer: Local Researchers Are Making Inroads in Determining the Causes of Long COVID
COVID-19 cases are ticking up again, exposing even the mildly ill to the risk of developing a still poorly understood constellation of health problems known as long COVID. Nuala Meyer, director of the Center for Translational Lung Biology and an associate professor of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care, and Michael Harhay, PhD, an assistant professor of Epidemiology and Medicine, are tracking the experiences of 88 former COVID-19 patients for up to two years to measure protein levels and white blood cell counts, as well as breathlessness, depression, or anxiety. Julio Chirinos, MD, PhD, an associate professor of Cardiovascular Medicine, is studying cases of heart failure, strokes, and heart attacks in people hospitalized for COVID-19 to understand if a bout with the virus increases a person’s risks of cardiovascular effects.
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Local 12: Scientists Discover New Cell in the Lung that Could Hold the Key to Treating Diseases
According to new research from Maria Basil, MD, PhD, an instructor of Pulmonary Medicine, and Edward Morrisey, PhD, director of the Penn-CHOP Lung Biology Institute, there is a cell in the lung, called respiratory airway secretory cells (RASCs), that they believe explains what happens at the cell-level in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD.
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The Plug: Penn Partners With Five HBCUs to Attract Diverse Students to Medical School
Perelman School of Medicine recently announced the formal expansion of the Penn Access Summer Scholars (PASS) Program to increase diversity among physicians by partnering with five Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Horace DeLisser, MD, associate dean for Diversity and Inclusion, worked to expand the program to HBCUs, creating partnerships and giving presentations to premedical students. “I would go to the various schools and give talks about doing a gap year, getting into a top tier institution and dealing with some of the myths about getting into medical school,” DeLisser said.
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U.S. News & World Report: Long COVID Treatments and Recovery
Patients dealing with long-haul COVID represent a significant portion of the population now seeking care for COVID-19. Robert Kotloff, MD, a professor of Pulmonary Medicine and director of the Harron Lung Center, explained the conditions of the types of long COVID patients he sees. He said many come to him with shortness of breath, not after severe cases of COVID, but mild ones.
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Health Imaging: 25 Percent of Patients Undergoing Transthoracic Needle Biopsy Experience Complications
Up to one-quarter of patients who undergo transthoracic needle biopsy experience complications post-procedure, according to a new study. “It is unknown if complication rates have changed over time due to evolving clinical practice patterns, technological improvements, or changes in patient selection,” said corresponding author Anil Vachani, MD, an associate professor of Pulmonary Medicine and Critical Care. “A better understanding of the contemporary rates and patterns of complications with TTNB and factors that predispose patients to these complications can be used by clinicians and patients to make decisions on the approach to lung biopsy.”.
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Prevention: Why Allergies Cause Fatigue
Most people are familiar with allergy symptoms like sneezing, or itchy eyes, but they can also cause fatigue, allergists say. Patricia Takach, MD, an associate professor of Clinical Medicine, explains how to prevent allergy-related fatigue.
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Health: Omicron vs. Allergies: How to Tell the Difference
For the past two years, COVID-19 has coincided with allergy seasons — and most recently, with the virus’ omicron variant (and its BA.2 and BA.2.12.1 subvariants), it’s more difficult to distinguish between the two. Fever is a key indicator that you may have COVID-19 instead of allergies, according to Scott Feldman, MD, PhD, an assistant professor of Clinical Medicine in Allergy and Immunology. That’s because fever, or a rise in body temperature, is one of the ways the body tries to fight off infection or illness — the body essentially makes itself inhospitable for viruses and bacteria to survive and multiply.
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SyFy - The Kelly Cutrara Showe: New Respiratory Cells Discovered Inside Lungs
Penn Live: New Cell Found in Human Lungs May Help Against Smoking-related Diseases
A newly discovered cell was found hiding in the passageways of the human lungs, according to new research from Maria Basil, MD, PhD, an instructor of Pulmonary Medicine, and Edward Morrisey, PhD, director of the Penn-CHOP Lung Biology Institute. They believe this cell may be crucial to the functionality of the respiratory system. According to the study, the cells may help with treating and fighting against smoking-related diseases, like COPD.
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Precision Oncology News: Penn Researchers Pilot Earlier Liquid Biopsy NGS Workflow to Reduce NSCLC Therapy Delays
According to data published in JTO Clinical and Research, led by Jeffrey C. Thompson, MD, researchers found that lung cancer patients who received liquid biopsy genomic profiling at the same time as their diagnostic bronchoscopy had shorter time to treatment than those who received the standard tissue-based testing after their first oncology visit.
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Targeted Oncology: CAR T-Cell Therapy shows 'Limited Success' in Solid Tumors, But 'Incremental Changes' Still being made
Steven M. Albelda, MD, the William Maul Measey Professor of Medicine, discussed the introduction of chimeric antigen receptor T cells in solid tumor research and how it differs from what has been observed in hematologic malignancies.
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Penn Medicine News Blog: Feeling Foggy? Your Head is in the Clouds for a Reason
Particularly for those who work in health care, how does one move out of the fog and keep the momentum going? Lisa Bellini, MD, MACP, believes that self-care — something that you can control — is one of the keys to de-fogging.
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Targeted Oncology: Limited Success of CAR T Cells in Solid Tumors
Steven M. Albelda, MD, the William Maul Measey Professor of Medicine, discussed CAR T-cell therapy in the solid tumor space, which he presented on during the 26th Annual International Congress on Hematologic Malignancies. He said, “CAR T cells will suffer from tumor heterogeneity, where some tumor cells expressed the targeted antigen and some don’t.” It’s less of an issue with B-cell leukemias and lymphomas, but “it’s a much bigger problem with solid tumors because there’s much more heterogeneity that there’s hardly ever a tumor where 100 percent of the cells would express the target antigen.“
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Philadelphia Inquirer: COVID-19 Numbers Explained: Understanding Case, Hospitalization, Death, Vaccine Data
Data collection practices around COVID-19 have evolved, complicating their interpretation. George Anesi, MD, MSCE, an instructor of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine and director of the Medical Critical Care Bioresponse Team, recommends paying attention to both the number of reported cases and how they’re changing, saying “trajectories can be very, very helpful.” Both still have flaws: Reported numbers are difficult to compare over time because of how testing has changed, and trajectories don’t account for the level of community spread at any given moment. For instance, with omicron on the decline after a swift peak, “we’re still at a much higher level than we’ve been at [during] other points in the pandemic,” he said.
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Medscape: Cut Off by COVID-19 and Conflict, Canadian Medical Mission to Yemen Goes Virtual
Bridge to Health, a Canadian non-governmental organization that delivers medical and dental aid to countries around the world, had just received approval for a pilot project to train doctors in Yemen to use portable ultrasound machines. Then came COVID-19. Nahreen H. Ahmed, MD, MPH, an assistant professor of Clinical Medicine, is one of the physicians helping the team to execute their mission virtually as the head of ultrasound training for Bridge to Health. Along with instructing the trainees by video link, she reviews the scans they upload to the cloud. “If I place a comment on an image, they can see it almost immediately in Yemen. And so that’s pretty incredible to give that kind of real-time feedback,” she said.
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Health: Runny Nose Causes, Treatments, and Prevention
Anthony LaCava, MD, a fellow of Allergy and Immunology, discussed causes, treatments, and when to see a doctor for a runny nose. “Environmental allergies can cause nasal inflammation that often results in a runny nose, sneezing, and nasal congestion,” LaCava said.
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SELF: Five Common Allergic Asthma Triggers and How to Avoid Them
How are allergic asthma treatments tailored based on triggers? If someone suspects they have allergic asthma, it’s important to meet with a board-certified allergist to get a proper diagnosis first, Priya Patel, MD, an assistant professor of Clinical Medicine, explained to SELF. “The allergist can do testing, which may consist of skin testing or blood testing, to help identify allergens that may be triggering asthma,” she said. “They can then provide tips for how to avoid those allergens.”
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Kaiser Health News: A New Paradigm Is Needed: Top Experts Question the Value of Advance Care Planning
Scott Halpern, MD, PhD, a professor of Medicine, Epidemiology, and Medical Ethics & Health Policy, commented on issues that can compromise the usefulness of living wills, do-not-resuscitate orders, and other end-of-life documents. A patient’s preferences may be inconsistent or difficult to apply in real-life situations, leaving medical providers without clear guidance, he said.
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OncLive: Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors Extend Survival for Mesothelioma
A submitted article from Roger Y. Kim, MD, a Pulmonary and Critical Care fellow, pointed to how immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapies are seeing benefits for patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM), a rare cancer arising from mesothelial cells that line the pleura. ICIs are offering more effective and less toxic treatment options for patients. The research and clinical oncology communities await the completion of several upcoming trials focused on refining the role of ICIs in the treatment of this rare and deadly disease.
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Philadelphia Inquirer: Steps to Take to Stop Smoking or Vaping This Year
In an essay for the Philadelphia Inquirer,Frank T. Leone, MD, MS, director of Penn’s Comprehensive Smoking Treatment Program, outlined expert advice for people resolving to stop smoking in the new year. “If you added ‘quit smoking’ to your New Year’s resolution list, the first step in achieving this goal is to see the change as a process, or series of steps, rather than as a switch that gets flipped,” he wrote.
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Medscape: Clinical Trials That Pay Participants Are Not Unethical
Offering payments to clinical trial participants did not appear to get people to accept more risks or skew participation to lower-income individuals, according to a new study led by Scott Halpern, MD, PhD, a professor of Medicine, Epidemiology, and Medical Ethics & Health Policy. “Investigators finally have data that they can cite to put to rest any lingering concerns about offering moderate incentives in low-risk trials,” he said.
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Health: What Is Multifocal Pneumonia? Here’s What to Know, According to Doctors
Multifocal pneumonia is just one specific classification of pneumonia, which can help doctors determine the most effective form of treatment. In an interview with Health, Shweta Sood, MD, MS, an assistant professor of Clinical Medicine, provided expert opinion on different kinds of pneumonia, treatments, and what patients can expect based on their overall health. “Most healthy people with minimal underlying medical conditions usually recover from pneumonia with no issue over the course of several days,” she said.
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Yahoo News: Here’s Why Your Allergies Might Seem Worse This Fall
It’s not in your head — allergists say that it might definitely feel like this allergy season is more intense than usual. “Sheltering in place and mask-wearing during the COVID-19 pandemic may have prevented exposure to airborne allergens, which cause allergic rhinitis,” said Patricia Takach, MD, an associate professor of Clinical Medicine and the director of Allergy and Immunology Clinical Programs
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OncLive: Checkpoint Inhibitors, Electrical Fields Provide New Options for Mesothelioma
Malignant mesothelioma is a highly malignant disease that most often occurs in the pleura of the thoracic cavity affecting the peritoneum, pericardium, or tinea vaginalis testis. It is often mistaken for lung disease as it affects the serous membranes lining the lungs rather than the organs themselves. Roger Y. Kim, MD, a Pulmonary and Critical Care fellow, published results in the journal Lung Cancer from a retrospective, real-world study on July 17, 2021, demonstrating survival benefit of checkpoint inhibitors in this population.
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OncLive: Is Pneumonia Contagious? What to Know, How to Protect Yourself
Pneumonia is an infection that affects one or both lungs, and some forms of it are contagious. As a whole, “viral pneumonia is more contagious than bacterial pneumonia,” said John E. McGinniss, MD, a clinical instructor of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care. That’s why, if you’re around someone who has viral pneumonia, it’s important to take precautions like wearing a mask and practicing careful hand hygiene. McGinniss also discussed the two pneumococcal vaccines in the U.S., explaining their effectiveness for adults.
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6ABC: Philadelphia doctor travels the world offering care in underserved countries
For their “Hometown Heroes” segment, 6ABC highlighted the work of Nahreen H. Ahmed, MD, MPH, an assistant professor of Clinical Medicine. Ahmed is a third-generation doctor and carries on her family legacy by working to provide medical care to underserved populations around the world. During the pandemic, she also provided critical care to the Navajo community in New Mexico, as well in the ICU at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania – Cedar Avenue.
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Aunt Minnie: How Accurate Are Models for Predicting Incidental Lung Nodules?
A recent study led by Anil Vachani, MD, an associate professor of Pulmonary Medicine, looked into how accurately two commonly used clinical models can predict whether incidental pulmonary nodules found on chest CT are malignant. The research found the accuracy of both models to be “fair” – potentially leading to overestimations of cancer.
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Becker's Hospital Review: Heal First, Then Vaccinate: How Nine Systems Are Connecting COVID-19 Survivors With the Vaccine
In this piece for Becker’s Hospital Review, physician leaders shared how they approach conversations with hospitalized COVID-19 patients who ask for the vaccine, along with how they connect recovered patients and their family members to vaccination opportunities. “Unvaccinated patients with severe COVID-19 who request a vaccine break our hearts because their disease could likely have been prevented and because the vaccines do not treat acute COVID-19 pneumonia,” said George Anesi, MD, MSCE, an instructor of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine.
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Medscape: FDA Approves Tacrolimus for Lung Transplants
The FDA has approved the use of the transplant drug tacrolimus (Prograf) for the prevention of organ rejection in adult and pediatric patients receiving lung transplants. This is the only immunosuppressant drug approved for this patient population. Tacrolimus has been routinely prescribed to lung transplant recipients for the past 15 to 20 years and is “the primary calcineurin inhibitor used as the backbone of immunosuppression for lung transplants,” said Joshua Diamond, MD, MSCE, associate medical director of the Lung Transplantation Program and an assistant professor of Medicine.
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Inquirer: COVID-19 Vaccine Prevents Sepsis in Hospitalized Patients, Report Finds
Of the 26,266 people who were hospitalized with COVID-19 in Pennsylvania in the first seven months of the pandemic, about 8,000, or 31 percent, also were diagnosed with sepsis, according to a new report from the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council. Mark Mikkelsen, MD, MSCE, Chief of Medical Critical Care, noted that only a small percentage of people diagnosed with COVID-19 wind up in a hospital, “But if they need hospitalization, there is a tremendous overlap with sepsis.”
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Prevention: Allergies Can Cause a Loss of Smell. So How Can You Be Sure It’s Not COVID-19?
Loss of smell is a common symptom of COVID-19. However, a lost sense of smell (medically known as anosmia, which is often accompanied by a lost sense of taste, or ageusia) can be rooted in other issues, including upper respiratory tract infections like the common cold and even allergies. Scott Feldman, MD, PhD, an assistant professor of Clinical Medicine, discussed antihistamine treatments..
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Science: How do you treat coronavirus? Here are physicians’ best strategies
In the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic, clinical evidence on how to treat the virus poured into hospitals as physicians learned on the go. Having gone between waiting for results from large clinical trials and offering anything to the gravely ill patients in front of them, doctors are now reflecting on best practices and what they learned along the way. Meghan Brooks Lane-Fall, MD, an associate professor of Anesthesiology and Critical Care, Todd E. H. Hecht, MD, a professor of Clinical Medicine, George L. Anesi, MD, MSCE, an instructor of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, and Nuala J. Meyer, MD, an associate professor of Medicine in Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care, provided expert opinions in a Science article.
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6ABC: Type A blood greater risk for COVID-19 complications
Overview: John P. Reilly, MD, MSCE, an assistant professor of Pulmonary Medicine, discussed future implications of his published research regarding the link between blood Type A and increased risk of developing acute respiratory distress syndrome
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Penn Medicine News Blog: One Year with COVID-19 – A Seasoned Pulmonologist and Photographer Looks Through a New Lens
Overview: A passionate photographer, John Hansen-Flaschen, MD, a professor of Medicine and Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care and the founding director of Penn’s Paul Harron Lung Center, set his camera on a tripod directly over his shoulder and captured his colleagues working together at that moment in time where medical experts and the world tried to make sense of the new pandemic.
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The Verge: Will Vaccination Prevent Chronic COVID-19 Symptoms?
Overview: Data from multiple COVID-19 vaccines makes it clear that the shots protect against the most severe outcomes of the disease: hospitalization and death. But it’s still unclear how well the vaccines will reduce the risk of chronic, long-term symptoms, which a small but significant number of COVID-19 patients experience. Jessica Dine, MD, MHSP, an associate professor of Pulmonary Medicine, offers insight as to why we may see fewer people with long-term symptoms as more people get vaccinated.
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6ABC: Do You Need to Double Mask? Here’s What the Experts Are Saying
Overview: As new, more contagious variants of COVID-19 continue to spread, some are asking if two masks are better than one. Ronald Collman, MD, PhD, a virologist and a professor of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care, weighed in on the double masking discussion.
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Annals of Internal Medicine: Characteristics, Outcomes, and Trends of Patients With COVID-19–Related Critical Illness at a Learning Health System in the United States
Overview: George Anesi, MD and 40 authors form a response to the initial challenges of COVID.
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Philly Voice: A rise in post-COVID syndrome is concerning U.S. health experts
Overview: The Penn Medicine post-COVID assessment and recovery clinic was highlighted in a Philly Voice story. This clinic is led in part by Rob Kotloff, MD and heavily staffed by many other PACCD faculty and fellows.
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Critical Care Medicine: The ABCs of CEAs: Building Blocks for Decision Making
Overview: Rachel Kohn, MD and Cameron Baston, MD published an editorial in Critical Care Medicine focusing on Cost Effectiveness analyses of ICU bundles.
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Philly Voice: Odds of surviving cardiac arrest while hospitalized with COVID-19 are better than previously thought
Overview: - Oscar Mitchell, MD was featured in Philly Voice and Pennmedicine News for his recent study on cardiopulmonary arrest survival in COVID patients:
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WHYY: Inpatient Emergency Voting Assisted by Health Systems, Volunteers
Overview: Amid the pivotal 2020 election, inpatients who found themselves unexpectedly at Penn Medicine hospitals for Election Day were still able to vote thanks to efforts by the Penn Votes Project team.Judd Flesch, MD, an assistant professor of clinical medicine in Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care, and Aliza Narva, MSN, RN, JD, director of Ethics at HUP, spoke about the program they guide and how it adheres to the civic duties of health care workers. Additionally, a WHYY story on patient voting mentioned the Penn program and how it helped more than 200 patients vote since 2016.
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ABC News: Experts Express Concerns About Possible Coronavirus Transmission at Vice Presidential Debate
Overview: Two, five-foot tall plexiglass walls stood between Vice President Mike Pence and Senator Kamala Harris at Wednesday night’s debate in an effort to prevent potential COVID-19 transmission following the White House outbreak. Ronald Collman, MD, a virologist and a professor of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care, was quoted.
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NBC News: CDC stumbles again, mistakenly posts 'draft' guidance about airborne Covid-19 spread
Overview: After the CDC changed guidance on their website, NBC Nightly News checked in with health experts to see what precautions people still need to take. Ron Collman, MD, a professor of Medicine, said wearing a mask, even indoors, “is going to be the most effective way to lessen the likelihood of person-to-person transmission.”
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Prevention: What Are the Long-Term Effects of COVID-19?
Overview: Prevention interviewed Robert M. Kotloff, MD, a professor in Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine and director of the Harron Lung Center, about the impact of long-term COVID-19 cases and what people who have extended bouts may experience.
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New York Times: How COVID-19 Sends Some Bodies to War with Themselves
Overview: Nuala J. Meyer, MD, an associate professor of Medicine in Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care, spoke with the New York Times about cytokine storms in COVID-19 patients and the need to come up with ways to calm the immune system, comparing the problem to acute respiratory distress syndrome and sepsis.
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New York Times: Medical Experts: Speech Does Not Mean You Can Breathe
Overview: While it would be right to believe a person who can’t talk also cannot breathe, the reverse is not true – speaking does not imply that someone is getting enough air to survive, according to research published in the Annals of Internal Medicine. Gary Weissman, MD, MSHP, an assistant professor in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, and one of the authors of the paper, explained that you only have to move a very small amount of air through the upper airways and vocal cords in order to speak. That does not mean that enough air is getting down into the lungs where it can supply the rest of the body with oxygen, he said.
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South Jersey Business: Health Care Heroes Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic
Overview: South Jersey Biz highlighted local health care heroes who are working on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic. The publication’s list featured Mark Mikkelsen, MD, MSCE, chief of Medical Critical Care, and Jack Gutsche, MD, an associate professor of Anesthesiology and Critical Care and co-director of Penn Lung Rescue.
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NBC News: Some COVID-19 Patients Aren’t Getting Better. Major Medical Centers Seek to Figure Out Why
Overview: Major medical centers nationwide are trying to understand why some COVID-19 patients continue to have symptoms months after contracting the disease.Jessica Dine, MD, MHSP, an associate professor of Pulmonary Medicine, explained how she first noticed a subset of COVID-19 patients whose symptoms lingered thanks to Penn’s automated text-based program called COVID Watch. The team is working with those patients to better understand their illness—first by ruling out obvious causes, such as secondary infection or side effects of treatments. Her team has two hypotheses for the long-term symptoms: either the virus is still somewhere in the body, undetectable through testing, or the virus is gone but patients are experiencing post-viral inflammatory syndrome. Other outlets:
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NBC News: Doctors View Dexamethasone Results on COVID-19 with Excitement and Skepticism
Overview: Researchers in England say they have the first evidence that a drug can improve COVID-19 survival: A cheap, widely available steroid reduced deaths by up to one third in severely ill hospitalized patients. George L. Anesi, MD, MSCE, an instructor of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine and Director of HUP’s Medical Critical Care Biopresonse Team, called the results intriguing but emphasized the need to see the full study before implementing any changes in practice. Coverage also in the Philadelphia Inquirer.
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Science: Blood Vessel Attack Could Trigger Coronavirus Fatal ‘Second Phase’
Overview: A new hypothesis suggests COVID-19 may cause direct and indirect damage to the endothelial cells that line the blood vessels, particularly in the lungs. By attacking those cells, COVID-19 infection causes vessels to leak and blood to clot, changes that can spark inflammation throughout the body and fuel the development of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). “It’s a vicious cycle,” said Nilam Mangalmurti, MD, an assistant professor of Pulmonary Medicine, who was not involved in the research.
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NBC News: Is the Coronavirus Airborne? Here’s What we Know
Overview: While scientists say it is possible that the coronavirus can drift through the air, many note there's no evidence these tiny bits of virus are enough to make people sick. To understand how the virus travels by air, it's important to know whether it's hitched a ride on a jumbo jet—or a paper airplane. "It's basically a size difference," said Ronald Collman, MD, PhD, a virologist and a professor of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care, referring to the size of droplets that contain viral particles.
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National Geographic: They Don’t Struggle to Breathe—But COVID-19 is Starving Them of Oxygen
Overview: Unlike many other respiratory diseases, COVID-19 can slowly starve the body of oxygen without initially causing much shortness of breath. By the time some patients have trouble breathing or feeling pressure in the chest, they are already in dire straits. Cameron Baston, MD, MSCE, a pulmonary and critical care physician and an assistant professor of Clinical Medicine, discussed this presentation, called “silent hypoxia,” and the potential implications of prolonged hypoxia.
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Wall Street Journal: The Tricky Math Behind Coronavirus Predictions
Overview: The many COVID-19 projection models are valuable to public health officials and policy makers, health experts say. The overall message, say epidemiologists: social distancing has been working, but the virus likely isn’t going away soon. Jason D. Christie, MD, MS, chief of the division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, spoke with the Wall Street Journal about the value of these models.
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Good Morning America: GMA Thanks Health Care Workers
Overview: Good Morning America aired a photo of David DiBardino, MD, an assistant professor of Pulmonary Medicine, during a segment in which the hosts thanked health care workers nationwide for their work on the COVID-19 front lines.
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NBC News: Diagnostic Tests and Contact Tracing Remain Key to Successful Reopening
Overview: Experts say the most important way to ensure a successful reopening is to have a vast quantity of accurate tests to diagnose COVID-19 cases. Ideally, that means testing everyone and properly identifying asymptomatic spreaders, said George L. Anesi, MD, MSCE, an instructor of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine and Director of the Medical Critical Care Bioresponse team. “It cannot be overstated how important diagnostic testing is,” Anesi said.
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MSNBC: Why Social Distancing is Our Best Defense Right Now?
Overview: Jason D. Christie, MD, MS, chief of the division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, was a guest on MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell Reports to discuss the COVID-19 outbreak. Christie commented on the development of treatments and vaccines and emphasized that social distancing remains the most effective way to reduce the spread of COVID-19.
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Philadelphia Inquirer: Healthy People are now making sure end-of-life wishes are known
Overview: Scott Halpern, MD, PhD, a professor of Medicine, Epidemiology, and Medical Ethics & Health Policy, is quoted in a story about end-of-life decisions. Halpern, who directs the Palliative and Advanced Illness Research (PAIR) Center, advocates considering questions about quality of life, rather than specific medical interventions.
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Philadelphia Inquirer: If you need a ventilator for COVID-19, odds are 50-50 you’ll survive. But doctors are learning more every day.
Overview: Physicians are learning more about the use of ventilators in caring for patients with COVID-19. Doctors are also making much greater use of proning—or facedown positioning—with COVID-19 patients, including those who do and do not need ventilators.Cameron Baston, MD, MSCE, a pulmonary and critical care physician and an assistant professor of Clinical Medicine, explains how proning can help reduce inflammation and improve the coordination between air flow and blood flow.
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Science Magazine: How does coronavirus kill? Clinicians trace a ferocious rampage through the body, from brain to toes
Overview: Clinicians and pathologists are learning more about how the novel coronavirus affects organs throughout the body, including the lungs, heart and kidneys. Nilam Mangalmurti, MD, an assistant professor of Pulmonary Medicine, comments on what we know so far, including suspected risk factors, such as diabetes, obesity and hypertension.
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WBUR (NPR’s “Here & Now): How Bacteria Could Affect Outcomes of COVID patients
Overview: As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, scientists are racing to unravel every aspect of how this novel virus behaves. Ronald Collman, MD, PhD, a virologist and professor of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care, thinks that our microbiome — the bacteria and fungi that live in our bodies and on our skin — may be playing a role.
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TODAY (Today Show’s website): How to Wear a Face Mask Correctly
Overview: Face masks are one way to help reduce the spread of the coronavirus, but they’re only effective when worn properly. George L. Anesi, MD, MSCE, an instructor of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine and director of the Medical Critical Care Bioresponse team, shared best practices for wearing face masks, including how to make sure it fits properly and tips to safely remove it.
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WHYY:How do quick coronavirus tests work?
Overview: There's wide agreement that more tests are needed for COVID-19, to track where the coronavirus is and how it is spreading — in particular, rapid tests that give results in minutes, not hours. Ronald Collman, MD, PhD, virologist and professor of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care, said it is important to be cautious in developing and using new tests. The main priority should be to test a lot more people than is currently being done in the United States, he said.
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Philadelphia Inquirer: Chase Utley Thanks Penn Medicine Doctor for Work on COVID Front Line
Overview: Mark Mikkelsen, MD, MSCE, chief of Medical Critical Care, joined the MLB Network’s “Intentional Talk” to discuss what it is like battling the coronavirus pandemic in Philadelphia. Philadelphia Phillies legend Chase Utley made a surprise appearance during the interview to thank Mikkelsen, saying “I’d like to thank you for what you’re doing, and for what your staff and team are doing for the city of Philadelphia.” After the show, Mikkelsen shared his reaction to the surprise with the Philadelphia Inquirer. “Today, I had the opportunity of a lifetime. In one 15-minute span, I was blessed to meet a Phillies and MLB great, Chase Utley … and convey my sincere gratitude to the passionate and compassionate team of all-stars that I have the pleasure of working with on the front lines at Penn Medicine,” he said. Other outlets:
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New York Times/Associated Press: Doctor Gambles on Clot-Busting Drug to Save Virus Patients
Overview: Many hospitals are attempting preventive doses of blood thinners to keep clots from forming in patients with COVID-19. But there is debate over what kind to try, what dose is safe, and how soon to start. Steven C. Pugliese, MD, an assistant professor of Pulmonary Medicine, commented on the potential use of a clot-busting therapy, known as tPA. Given the potential bleeding risk, he said it has to be studied in carefully chosen patients — especially because there is no good way to tell in advance who really has these tiny clots.
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Washington Post: Many patients on ventilators face long recovery
Overview: For people desperately ill with covid-19, getting hooked up to a mechanical ventilator can mean the difference between life and death. Scott Halpern, MD, PhD, a critical care physician, explains how ventilators keep people alive and buy time for something else—often a therapy—to heal the lungs. However, with COVID-19, we don’t have a treatment for the underlying insult.
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Boston Globe: Even in good health, all ages are vulnerable
Overview: Ronald Collman, MD, professor of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care, comments on the varying effects of coronavirus in patients.
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Washington Post: New York City Hospitals Struggle with life or death decisions
Overview: Scott Halpern, MD, PhD, a critical care physician, drafted model guidelines regarding resuscitation and COVID-19 that serve as the basis for many policies being considered by hospitals. He said clear protocols are needed to ensure fair treatment of patients and relieve the moral distress of providers.
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Philadelphia Inquirer: Coronavirus poses extra risks for smokers. Will that make them quit?
Overview: Lung experts said there’s good reason to suspect that the novel coronavirus may be more dangerous to people who smoke or vape, but it’s too early to tell whether that will lead to an increase in the number of people who try to quit smoking. Frank T. Leone, MD, MS, director of Penn’s Comprehensive Smoking Treatment Program, says the nature of cigarette addiction makes it hard to stop during a crisis. Nicotine works in the part of the brain that detects threat. Rather than sedating, “it’s giving the brain the sort of all-clear, safe signal.” Other outlets:
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Newsweek: We Must Now Allocate Care to Those Who Will Benefit the Most
Overview: In an op-ed for Newsweek, Scott Halpern, MD, PhD, a critical care physician, outlines four principles that, if broadly adopted in crisis, should help minimize the harms of COVID to the American population.
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TIME Magazine: How Much Does COVID-19 Affect Millennials?
Overview: New data from the CDC suggests adults ages 20 to 44 have accounted for nearly 30 percent of COVID-19 cases and 20 percent of related hospitalizations in the U.S. George L. Anesi, MD, MSCE, an instructor of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine and director of the Medical Critical Care Bioresponse team, said that while older adults need to be the most vigilant, adults of any age are at risk. “We need a full societal commitment to this,” he said. “Life is going to look different for a while, and that’s important to be able to turn the tide on this.”
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USA Today: Coronavirus: What is ARDS?
Overview: Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a rare, life-threatening condition in which fluid collects in the lungs’ air sacs, depriving organs of oxygen. Nuala J. Meyer, MD, an associate professor of Medicine in Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care, comments on ARDS survivorship and early reports that show a high percentage of the hospitalized patients with COVID-19 may develop ARDS.
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Philadelphia Inquirer: What are the first symptoms of coronavirus?
Overview: Public health officials have identified three main symptoms associated with the novel coronavirus: fever, cough and difficulty breathing. However, there are still gaps in our understanding of what symptoms may look like at the earliest stages.Nuala J. Meyer, MD, an associate professor of Medicine in Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care, says she would add sore throat to the list of early symptoms. Although most patients will eventually have a fever, she notes that it may not be in the first five days.
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Conversations from the World of Allergy (podcast): What Physicians Need to Know About COVID
Overview: George L. Anesi, MD, MSCE, an instructor of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine and Director of the Medical Critical Care Bioresponse team, joined the podcast Conversations from the World of Allergy to discuss preparedness and how this pandemic can specifically impact patients with asthma, allergies and immune deficiency.
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Washington Post: Hospitals Consider Challenging Ethical Decisions
Overview: Scott Halpern, MD, PhD, a critical care physician, co-wrote and disseminated a policy to dozens of hospitals around the country, which provided specific guidelines for making critical medical decisions, should COVID-19 cases overwhelm hospitals. In an interview with the Washington Post, Halpern said a blanket stop to resuscitations may end up sacrificing a young person who is otherwise in good health. Other outlets:
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Philadelphia Inquirer: When coronavirus kills, the lung condition ARDS can be the culprit. Here’s what you need to know.
Overview: Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a rare, life-threatening condition in which fluid collects in the lungs’ air sacs, depriving organs of oxygen. Nuala J. Meyer, MD, an associate professor of Medicine in Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care, comments on ARDS survivorship and early reports that show a high percentage of the hospitalized patients with COVID-19 may develop ARDS.
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ABC News: Hospitals Trying to Figure Out How They Would Ration Ventilators
Overview: Scott Halpern, MD, PhD, a critical care physician, commented on how hospitals will make medical decisions should growing cases of COVID-19 overwhelm the medical system.
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Washington Post: Coronavirus will radically alter the US
Overview: Jason D. Christie, MD, MS, chief of the division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, is quoted in a story about how experts are churning out models to try to predict the coming chaos unleashed by the novel coronavirus and to make preparations.
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Men’s Health: Here’s What Medical Experts Mean By ‘Shortness of Breath’
Overview: Shortness of breath—known medically as dyspnea—is listed among the most common symptoms of people who have the novel coronavirus. In a Q&A with Men’s Health, Jason Fritz, MD, associate professor of Pulmonary Medicine at Penn and co-director the Dyspnea Program at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, comments on what shortness of breath means, what it feels like and what it could be a symptom of.
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Washington Post: Spiking U.S. coronavirus cases could force rationing decisions similar to those made in Italy, China
Overview: Medical experts say a spike in coronavirus cases in the United States could lead to the adoption of rationing protocols. George L. Anesi, MD, MSCE, an instructor of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine and director of the Medical Critical Care Bioresponse team, commented on the decision-making process. “These are really hard decisions,” he said. “In a public health emergency, you shift from a focus on individual patients to how society as a whole benefits and that’s a big change from usual care.”
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Men’s Health: Here’s What Medical Experts Mean By a ‘Dry’ Cough
Overview: A dry cough is listed among the most common symptoms of people who have the novel coronavirus.Vivek Ahya, MD, an associate professor of Pulmonary Medicine and vice chief of Clinical Affairs in Pulmonary, Allergy & Critical Care, commented on the main differences between a dry cough and other types of coughs.
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Philadelphia Inquirer: With viruses like flu and coronavirus, pneumonia often delivers the fatal blow
Overview: When people die of the flu — or the new coronavirus, now called COVID-19 — it’s often a lung infection or pneumonia that actually leads to the death. Ronald G. Collman, MD, a professor of Pulmonary Medicine, comments on the different types of pneumonia and what patients are at the highest risk for developing the infection.
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Vox: Symptoms of COVID-19: The List Is Getting Longer, and Some Symptoms Are Longer-Term
Overview: Vox interviewed Nuala J. Meyer, MD, an associate professor of Medicine in Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care, about how acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) presents differently in patients diagnosed with COVID-19 than in non-COVID-19 patients. It has been hard for doctors to predict which COVID-19 patients will fare worse and develop severe complications like ARDS. But recently, a study from Meyer and her colleagues added new evidence to what’s long been a theory: that it’s not the virus that’s causing the symptoms, but the patient’s immune system