Infectious Diseases

Guest: Michael Greenberg, MD

Join dermatologist Dr. Michael Greenberg as he shares his unique view that blurs science and spirituality and how it’s helping him create stronger connections with patients.

Published April 10, 2020

Host: Linda Bernstein, Pharm.D.

This special episode of The Drug Report provides an update regarding the antiviral Remdesivir, which is the first investigational therapeutic to be studied under an FDA-approved NIH adaptive randomized controlled clinical trial for hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Currently, there are three options through clinical trials for obtaining remdesivir for the treatment of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 and pneumonia in the United States, as pharmacist Dr. Linda Bernstein explains.

Published April 10, 2020

Host: John Russell, MD

Guest: Diane E Custer, MD

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread across our nation and the world, more and more patients are experiencing anxiety and depression. Joining Dr. John Russell to explain how we can console our patients—all while maintaining our own mental health along the way—is Dr. Diane Custer.

Published April 8, 2020

Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD

Guest: Cyrus Shahpar, MD, MBA, MPH

What does it take to stand up a makeshift hospital—and enough people to staff it—in order to address critically ill patients of COVID-19? Dr. Cyrus Shahpar, Director of Prevent Epidemics team at Resolve to Save Lives talks to Dr. Josh Sharfstein about how to quickly scale up medical responses in a crisis.

Published March 30, 2020

Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD

Guest: Bin Cao, MD

Dr. Bin Cao, Vice President and Director of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine at the China-Japan Friendship Hospital in Beijing, has worked on the frontlines of patient care in Wuhan for the past few months. By closely monitoring the disease, he and his team are beginning to unlock some of its secrets. Dr. Cao talks to Dr. Josh Sharfstein about how the situation has changed in Wuhan, what we can learn about safeguarding providers, the primary risk factors for death, and ongoing research.

Published March 27, 2020

Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD

Guest: Crystal R. Watson, DrPH

What do we know this week that we didn’t know last week? What’s the status of serologic testing and can it be useful in helping to end social distancing practices? How good is the current evidence on chloroquine? Should COVID-19 patients avoid taking ibuprofen? What happens next if we are successful with social distancing? If you are older but have no chronic illness, are you still at high risk?

Published March 27, 2020

Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD

Guest: Jeremy A. Green

Guest: Graham Mooney, PhD

COVID-19 is often compared to the 1918 flu pandemic that claimed millions of lives and caused massive social disruption. But to what extent is the novel coronavirus different and what lessons can we learn from the successes and failures of previous epidemics? Medical historians Jeremy Greene and Graham Mooney talk to Stephanie Desmon about this comparison, the history of quarantines, and what we will learn from what we are living through right now.

Published March 27, 2020

Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD

Guest: Judi Melinek, MD

Dr. Judy Melinek is a forensic pathologist in the San Francisco Bay Area. She explains the role of autopsies in the public health response to COVID-19 and how her work also plays a difficult but vital role in disposing of remains when health care systems become overloaded.

Published March 26, 2020

Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD

Guest: Albert Wu, MD

In the midst of a pandemic, resilience is key for health care workers. Dr. Albert Wu, co-director of RISE—Resilience In Stressful Events—an emotional peer support structure at Johns Hopkins Hospital, talks to Dr. Josh Sharfstein about the importance of supporting hospital staff and what can be done to mitigate anxiety and stress in this unprecedented situation.

Published March 25, 2020

Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD

Guest: Stephanie Desmon

Guest: Monica Malta MPH, PhD

The threat of COVID-19 presents a new challenge for citizens of many countries who are not used to government entities directing their behavior. It’s also an ideological shift for many: Change your individual behavior for the good of the greater community.

Monica Malta, an alumna of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School, is a social epidemiologist and a global health researcher at the University of Toronto. She examines how responses at local, national, and regional levels—along with individual and community behavioral changes—can change the pace of an outbreak. Malta talks to Stephanie Desmon of the Center for Communication Programs about effective response strategies, why the outbreak looked so different in Italy and Japan despite both countries having aging populations, and more.

Published March 25, 2020