Pulmonary Medicine

Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD

Host: Sara Bennett, PhD

Guest: Timothy J. Roberton, DrPH

The global health community has worked for years to lower rates of maternal and child mortality in low- and middle-income countries. But while the world focuses on the number of deaths from COVID-19, estimates of indirect mortality due to disruptions in health systems cannot be ignored.

Tim Roberton, an assistant scientist in international health, talks with guest host Sara Bennett, a professor in international health, about a paper he co-authored that estimates there could be a 45 percent increase in child mortality and a 38 percent increase in maternal mortality in severe scenarios where care is disrupted due to COVID-19. One way to head off these numbers is to categorize care by prioritizing only emergency care that cannot be delivered in any other way.

Published May 7, 2020

Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD

Guest: Arturo Casadevall, MD, PhD

Dr. Arturo Casadevall—head of the convalescent plasma research project at Johns Hopkins—talks through the WHO’s recent statement that there’s no evidence of COVID-19 infection leading to short- or long-term immunity. Dr. Casadevall and Dr. Josh Sharfstein also discuss how COVID-19 is not like HIV or pneumonia and what we currently know about new strains of the novel coronavirus.

Published May 6, 2020

Host: Mario R. Nacinovich, Jr., MSc

Guest: Randy Young, MD

Here to give us a firsthand look into how ICUs across the country are confronting the COVID-19 pandemic head-on is Dr. Randy Young, a critical care doctor who’s treating COVID-19 patients in the mid-Atlantic area. Dr. Young joins Mario Nacinovich to discuss what he has seen during the pandemic and how the ICU is responding to both expected and unexpected challenges.

Published May 13, 2020

Host: Matt Birnholz, MD

Guest: April Taylor, MS, MHA, CPPS, CPHQ

Every organization has disaster preparedness plans for one-day and one-week events like fires, hurricanes, and earthquakes, but how do those plans come into play during a pandemic like COVID-19 when there isn’t an end date in sight? Joining Dr. Matt Birnholz to discuss this and more is April Taylor, Senior Director of Improvement and Project Management at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

Published May 13, 2020

Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD

Guest: Lauren M. Sauer, MS

What makes this virus different from hundreds of other similar viruses? What happens if parents don’t take their children for routine immunizations? Does prone body positioning help ICU patients? Does coronavirus spread best in wet or dry environments? What are randomized control trials and why is everyone talking about them? Is it possible to give someone a tattoo from six feet away? Lauren Sauer, Director of Operations with the Johns Hopkins Office of Critical Event Preparedness and Response (CEPAR) and Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine at Johns Hopkins Medicine, addresses these questions.

Published May 1, 2020

Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD

Guest: Karen C. Carroll, MD

In March, Johns Hopkins Hospital began making its own COVID-19 tests. The lab now has the capacity to run 600 tests per day but is limited by shortages in the supply of reagents: the chemicals needed to process the tests. Dr. Karen Carroll, Director of the Division of Medical Microbiology at Johns Hopkins Hospital talks with Dr. Josh Sharfstein about what it takes to develop a working COVID-19 test, why labs across the US are struggling with shortages, and what needs to happen to fix access to testing.

Published May 1, 2020

Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD

Host: Stephanie Desmon

Guest: Maximilian Konig, MD

Guest: Chetan Bettegowda, MD, PhD

For the subset of people who become critically ill from the novel coronavirus, cytokine storms could be to blame. This severe inflammatory disease happens when the immune system goes haywire in response to a novel threat. Rheumatology fellow Dr. Max Konig and neurosurgeon Dr. Chetan Bettegowda talk with Stephanie Desmon about the vital role of cytokine in immune responses, how to identify who might be at risk, and how research is looking into stopping the storms before they start.

Published April 28, 2020

Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD

Guest: Derek C. Angus, MD, MPH, FRCP

Until there is a vaccine, the best hope for the novel coronavirus is finding the right “cocktail” of treatments for managing severe illness. A unique clinical trial model developed several years ago may now help identify treatments that work. Dr. Derek Angus talks to Dr. Josh Sharfstein about the Bayesian inference model, a “March Madness” of testing multiple therapies at once.

Published April 27, 2020

Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD

Host: Stephanie Desmon

Guest: Andrew Stanley Pekosz, PhD

Virologist Dr. Andrew Pekosz returns to the podcast with an update on what his team has learned about COVID-19. Dr. Pekosz and Stephanie Desmon discuss further indications that COVID-19 may not be seasonal, why COVID-19 is “the flu on steroids,” and how learning about how the virus replicates in our upper respiratory tracts could hold clues for treatment and prevention. PLUS: An update on the convalescent plasma therapy trial.

Published April 27, 2020

Host: Joshua Sharfstein, MD

Guest: Gigi Kwik Gronvall, PhD

The market is suddenly flooded with antibody tests claiming to prove whether or not people have already been exposed to COVID-19. But two critical questions are yet unanswered: Are any of these tests accurate and does past exposure mean immunity?

Immunologist Dr. Gigi Gronvall of the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security talks to Dr. Josh Sharfstein about a new report outlining the potential and pitfalls of antibody testing. They discuss how long it might be before we understand more about antibodies and immunity to COVID-19 and how widespread testing could help capture the true footprint of the coronavirus’s spread.

Published April 24, 2020