Fall 2020 Newsletter
Chair's Message
Patient Care
Great COVID-19 Saves: How ECMO Helped a Pregnant Patient Meet Her Newborn Son
When a baby is born, one of the first people they meet is their mother. For one newborn earlier this year, this was not the case, for his mother, Takia Morrison, was diagnosed with COVID-19. In the wake of the pandemic, caution and the safety of everyone is crucial, and a team at Duke University Hospital was ready to treat Ms. Morrison.
Rapid COVID-19 Test Approved for Emergency Use by U.S. Food and Drug Administration
At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Duke Emergency Medicine partnered with Abbott Technologies as one of 19 sites within the United States to evaluate a rapid COVID-19 test that provided results within 15 minutes. On August 26, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the rapid COVID-19 test for Emergency Use Authorization based on preliminary results of the study. Approximately 50 million tests will be shipped out a month to healthcare facilities beginning in October.
Great COVID-19 Saves: Rapid Testing in the Trauma Intensive Care Unit
The emergence of the highly infectious SARS-CoV-2 virus posed a new challenge to caring for trauma patients in the intensive care unit (ICU). At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, trauma surgeons faced a serious dilemma: how do you protect these highly vulnerable patients from the virus while also protecting your colleagues on the front lines?
Transplantation at Duke in the Time of COVID-19
Transplantation remains the last hope for many patients with end-stage organ failure. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a nationwide decrease in transplants and organ donation. A recent study in The Lancet reported that deceased donor organ transplants in the United States have decreased by 51.1%. Many transplant centers have suspended procedures and limited organ donations to minimize the risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission to immunocompromised transplant patients.
Research
Developing a SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine: Adapting HIV Antibodies Research to Fight Against COVID-19
When the SARS-CoV-2 virus began a global pandemic, lives changed and were left in uncertainty. How can people combat a novel virus? Vaccines provide an answer.
Duke Researchers Testing Novel Therapeutics for Early and Acute Stages of COVID-19
During the acute stage of COVID-19, the immune system mounts an overwhelming inflammatory response to the SARS-CoV-2 virus. This influx of proinflammatory proteins, known as the “cytokine storm,” causes damage to lung tissue and results in acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).
Crisis of Care: Defining and Dismantling Health Disparities
With tens of millions of Americans currently unemployed, a raging global pandemic affecting races disproportionately, and a widespread national acknowledgment of deeply rooted racial inequities, health disparities have transitioned from widely misunderstood to a trending topic in healthcare.
Culture
Black Voices in Healthcare: Bryanna Stukes, Medical Student
Bryanna Stukes was born and raised in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. She attained a B.A. in philosophy from Spelman College before volunteering with Peace Corps Ecuador as a public health educator. She completed her post-graduate education at Johns Hopkins in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Bryanna is a third-year medical student at Duke with an interest in plastic and reconstructive surgery.
Black Voices in Healthcare: Kendrick Kennedy, MD, Emergency Medicine Chief Resident
After receiving a bachelor of science in nursing degree from the University of South Carolina-Aiken, Dr. Kennedy served for 4 years as a nurse on a cardiac unit before finding his way to medicine. He attended medical school at the Medical University of South Carolina in 2014 before coming to Duke for his emergency medicine residency.
Black Voices in Healthcare: Hadiza S. Kazaure, MD, New Faculty Member
Dr. Kazaure was born in Nigeria and moved to the United States to attend college. She received a bachelor of science at Temple University, followed by medical school training at Yale University School of Medicine. After her general surgery residency at Stanford, she completed an Endocrine Surgery fellowship at Duke. She became an Assistant Professor of Surgery in the Division of Surgical Oncology at Duke in 2020.
Black Voices in Healthcare: Bradley Collins, MD, Senior Faculty Member
Dr. Collins attended Duke University for medical school and completed his residency and research fellowship at Duke. After a surgery fellowship at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Dr. Collins returned to Duke where he has been a faculty member since 1999.
Education
COVID-19 and Patient Care: A Resident’s Perspective
For many healthcare professionals, news of the COVID-19 pandemic arrived from multiple channels and on many different levels: policies from their institutions, global news, CDC guidelines, and first-hand accounts from colleagues all over the world through social media. It has affected all areas of our lives, and one Duke resident offered her perspective on social media, workplace burnout, and the complications of patient care.
Faculty Recognition
The banner image reflects the two main themes of this issue: the resolve to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic, and the fight against systemic racism. The illustration depicts the impact of recent events on people from every walk of life in the local, national, and international communities. Illustration by Megan Llewellyn, CMI.
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