Experts from around the world share how they are managing patients with COVID-19
We look at the breadth of experience shared by professionals around the world in our hugely popular Global: How I manage COVID-19 patients – meet the expert series.
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Many of our staff and students have been directly or indirectly involved in managing COVID-19 patients. Their commitment, skills and the compassion they show their patients, colleagues and communities, in addition to the acceleration of our scientific effort and education about the novel disease, continues to play a vital role in the fight against coronavirus.
In the absence of fully established peer-reviewed data, learnings from clinical practice have been vital during the pandemic. That’s why in April 2020, our Education Academy began the online series Global: How I manage COVID-19 patients – meet the expert. The sessions bring experts from around the world together to discuss their learning from COVID-19 and answer pressing questions about how to manage patients.
From London, to Italy, Germany, China, Brazil, USA and Spain – our Global: How I manage COVID-19 patients – meet the expert series has welcomed insights from many corners of the globe. We will be launching our second series on Tuesday 15 September at 1pm. Join us to learn more on important topics and how clinicians are dealing with new challenges across the world.
All sessions are available on our Learning Hub, free for staff and students across King’s Health Partners. Once you have followed the steps to add the series to your ‘basket’, you will have access to all 16 sessions. So far, the recorded materials have been viewed more than 300 times! Here are the headlines from each of their presentations so far:
King’s College Hospital’s COVID-19 experience
Dr Jimstan Periselneris, King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, UK
In April, Dr Periselneris spoke about the Trust’s experience of COVID-19. He talked through the clinical course of the virus, before exploring some of the international, national and local data that provides some background on COVID-19. Learn more about the COVID-19 response at King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.
COVID-19 clinical and biological insights
Prof Fabio Ciceri, IRCCS San Raffaele Hospital, Italy
Prof Ciceri focused on COVID-19 clinical and biological insights from Milan. This was an opportunity to hear about the experience of those ahead of the UK’s COVID curve. He reported their data with the use of immunosuppressive agents to control acute respiratory distress syndrome. He also highlighted how his hospital had managed to maintain their bone marrow transplantation programme in the height of COVID-19.
Mechanical ventilation of COVID-19 patients
Prof Peter Spieth, University Hospital Dresden, Germany
Prof Spieth discussed his experience of managing an intensive care unit (ICU) of approximately 30 beds, which had provided care for patients not only in Germany, but also from Italy and France. He provided critical insights about how the virus can vary extensively across different countries.
Front-line psychological interventions in Wuhan during COVID-19 outbreak
Prof Chuan Shi, Peking University Sixth Hospital, Institute of Mental Health, China
Prof Shi explored the psychological impact of the COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan, the very first city to be hit by the virus. The most common psychiatric symptoms were depression, anxiety, insomnia, delirium, agitation, delusions and hallucinations. All these symptoms were the result of the destabilising effect of the disease rather than a direct effect of the virus.
Mental health service challenge in China under COVID-19 pandemic
Prof Zhongchun Liu, Remin Hospital of Wuhan University, China
Prof Liu shared experiences of the mental health services provided during the outbreak in Wuhan. We learnt how they developed these services with limited resources. Creating a psychological assistance hotline was one example.
Palliative care priorities for patients with COVID-19
Dr Catherine Evans, King’s College London, and Dr Richard Towers, King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, UK
Dr Evans and Dr Towers described the characteristics, symptoms and outcomes of patients with COVID-19 referred for palliative care. They talked about their work supporting patients with breathlessness.
COVID-19 in Brazil
Dr Luis Fernando Camargo, Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, Brazil
Dr Camargo presented his experience of COVID-19 in Brazil, in regard to clinical management, research and its impact. He reflected on the steep curve in the number of COVID-19 cases in Brazil when compared to the rest of the world and the conflicting recommendations from health care professionals and federal services.
COVID-19 impact on liver transplantation in Italy: surfing on changing scenarios
Prof Umberto Cillo, University of Padua, Italy
Prof Cillo described how they had maintained liver transplantation services during the pandemic. He shared maps of the separate pathways for COVID-19 patients at his hospital and how they maintained completely COVID-free areas.
Reflections and practice on the treatment of severe and critical COVID-19
Prof Haichao Li, Peking University Health Science Centre, China
Prof Li described the diagnosis and treatment of critically ill COVID-19 patients including their CT scans manifestations, another example of clinical practice in uncharted territory.
A day of COVID-19 management in the ICU at NYU Langone Brooklyn
Dr John Kileci, NYU Longone Health, USA
Dr Kileci talked about a day of COVID-19 management in the ICU at NYU Langone Brooklyn, a non-profit hospital which was one of the most badly hit in New York. He described the construction of teams from different clinical areas to help with daily management of patients, alongside the challenges faced during the pandemic.
Anti-inflammatory therapies in COVID-19
Prof Miguel Marcos Martín, University of Salamanca, Spain
Prof Martín touched on a key area in the treatment of COVID-19, describing the activity of different anti-inflammatory therapies. He also explained how his Institution had continued their liver transplantation programme throughout COVID-19.
A strategy for supporting our staff during COVID-19
Dr Sean Cross, King’s Health Partners, UK
Dr Cross spoke about his experience in helping to support NHS staff during the pandemic. He highlighted the importance of having a programme in hospitals to help support staff and their wellbeing, and talked about the staff support programme he and colleagues at King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust had designed.
The complications of "treating" a novel infection without anti-infectives
Dr Stephanie Sterling, NYU Langone Health-Brooklyn Hospital, USA
Dr Sterling’s discussed the problems of treating a novel infection without anti-infectives. She described the role of an infectious disease doctor during the pandemic, with a particular focus on surveillance. She spoke about supporting and protecting healthcare workers and being a resource for advice.
Co-infections in critically ill with severe COVID-19 pneumonia
Dr Tobias Lahmer, Technical University of Munich, Germany
COVID-19 can be associated with secondary bacterial or fungal infections. Dr Lahmer reported his experience and highlighted how these could be diagnosed, as well as speaking about the appropriate and timely use of antibiotics.
Anaesthesia practice in the times of COVID-19
Mr Timothy F Shi, Robert Wood Johnson Barnabas Health in New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA
Mr Shi described his experience on safe practices when intubating COVID-19 patients and how the anaesthetic team had contributed to the management of COVID-19 patients overall. He came from a hospital that had a massive influx of COVID-19 patients and spoke about developing an effective system to cope with this influx.
Saliva: a useful body fluid, or the most dangerous in COVID-19 transmission?
Professor Stephen Challacombe, King’s College London, UK
Professor Challacombe highlighted that SARS-CoV2 replicates in the oral cavity and that saliva can be used for antigen diagnosis. Importantly there is a high risk of transmission to dentists, ear, nose and throat specialists and anaesthetists but this can be reduced by prior use of povidone iodine or other virucidal antiseptic.
Prof Francesco Dazzi, Vice Dean (International), King’s College London, and Prof Anne Greenough, Director of Education and Training at King’s Health Partners, played key roles in delivering this innovative series. They said:
Many of us are directly or indirectly involved in managing COVID-19 patients with little headspace to go through the often unselected information to which we are exposed. In the absence of fully established peer-reviewed data, clinical decisions have to take advantage on what is learned in clinical practice. That is why we have asked experts from around the world to share their experience and discuss it with us.
Visit our Learning Hub to access this full series of talks. Look out for new information and updates on our second series of Global: How I manage COVID-19 patients – meet the experts on our events page.
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