The JAMA Network, formerly known as the Journal of the American Medical Association, published a half-hour video interview with epidemiologist Dr. Michelle Gong of the Montefiore Medical Center in New York City — at the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak in the US. Your host is Howard Bauchner MD, Editor in Chief at JAMA.
When the interview was recorded on March 23, New York City was experiencing nearly 11,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases — with numbers rising daily. As Chief of Critical Care Medicine at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx, Dr. Gong at the center of planning for the surge of patients who will require mechanical ventilation and intensive care. In this Q&A interview she discusses clinical management of ARDS (Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome) patients… the challenge of procuring diagnostic tests and personal protective equipment (PPE) for her staff… and more.
The video occasionally veers into highly technical territory, but for the listener who wants on overview of what the current pandemic feels like on the front lines of health care in the US, this interview can definitely give you a taste.
If you are looking for particular information from the interview, a few links are provided below that can take you to specific moments in the conversation.
Topics discussed in this interview:
What have the last few weeks in New York City been like? (1:19)
How large is your intensive care unit? (2:22)
What have been the clinical surprises? (3:18)
COVID-19 patients are responsive to PEEP and proning. (4:18)
Are you using any treatments that you think people should know about? (7:51)
What has been your situation regarding testing, ventilators, and PPE (personal protective equipment)? (18:29)
Non-invasive approaches to ventilation? (23:17)