SWJPCC Associate Editor Featured in Albuquerque Journal

Dr. Dona Upson forwarded an article from Sunday’s edition of the Albuquerque Journal featured Michel Boivin, a SWJPCC Associate Editor, in an article titled, “Exhaustion in the ICU: Doctors reflect on state’s nearly 5,000 COVID-19 deaths” (1). Boivin and his wife Teri Heynekamp, a married couple who were many years at the University of New Mexico, shared their thoughts last week on New Mexico nearing 5,000 COVID-19 deaths (Figure 1).

Figure 1. Lovelace doctors Michel Boivin and Teri Heynekamp, a married couple, walk through the intensive care unit at Lovelace Medical Center in Albuquerque. They and other doctors shared their thoughts last week on New Mexico nearing 5,000 COVID-19 deaths. (Eddie Moore/Albuquerque Journal)

Yesterday was Day 587 of the COVID-19 pandemic in New Mexico, just another brief hospital scene amid 19 months of loneliness, fatigue and grief. “We feel exhausted,” Heynekamp said in an interview, “like a type of exhaustion that I’ve never experienced in my life.” Doctors and other health care providers say their workload has hardly let up. Even the arrival of safe, effective vaccines, some doctors say, has provided little relief, introducing a new dynamic instead — the knowledge that most of today’s COVID-19 deaths are preventable. People who weren’t fully vaccinated accounted for 96% of the deaths in a recent four-week period.

Dr. Steve McLaughlin, chairman of the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine, said hospital leaders throughout the country are trying to address burnout among their workforce and “moral injury” — a concept usually applied to refugees and soldiers in wartime. In health care, moral injury refers to the distress endured by doctors and others as they’re forced to provide less care than normal. The preventable nature of most COVID-19 deaths, some doctors say, has added to the psychological toll.

Heynekamp said they and other providers have faced patients and family members who doubt the severity of the disease. Some families ask for a specific medicine, such as ivermectin, an anti-parasite drug not approved for COVID-19 treatment. A recent ICU patient, Heynekamp said, insisted his COVID-19 infection wasn’t worse than the flu. Others want to go home against medical advice, she said, and some families reject vaccination even after a loved one dies. “There’s so much anger toward health care providers,” Heynekamp said. “There’s so much animosity. There’s so much mistrust. “We’ve never dealt with that before.” Boivin put it this way: “The way that social media rewards disinformation and spreading lies at the expense of people’s lives has been unbelievably frustrating, as well as time consuming.”

The stress on health care providers goes well beyond coronavirus infections. New Mexico has had a long-standing shortage of doctors and nurses, especially in rural areas, and fewer beds per capita than the nation as a whole. Dr. Michel Boivin, a critical care physician at Lovelace, said a key challenge now is the scarcity of space available in larger hospitals to accept patients from smaller ones. “I had a guy who needed a pacemaker,” Boivin said, “and he was sitting in a rural New Mexico hospital for a whole day with his heart barely beating.” Before the pandemic, he said, there would have been no wait for a pacemaker-related transfer.

According to Dr. Sarah Medrick at the University of New Mexico, their state has one of the highest vaccination rates in the country (Table 1) (2).

Table 1. Vaccination Rate by State (2).

They urged people to get vaccinated, wear masks indoors and wash their hands. “I feel a lot of empathy for the families who are still losing their loved ones,” McLaughlin said. “I think it’s important to remind people that the pandemic is not over, and we have to continue to focus on the things we know can keep people safe and prevent additional deaths.” As Heynekamp walked through the seventh-floor ICU at Lovelace, she noted that she had stood in many of the rooms and watched patients say goodbye, often through a video call to loved ones.

It was, she said, a lonely way to die.

References

1. McKay D. Exhaustion in the ICU: Doctors reflect on state’s nearly 5,000 COVID-19 deaths. Albuquerque Journal. October 24, 2021. Available at: https://www.abqjournal.com/2440183/doctors-reflect-on-states-nearly-5000-covid19-deaths.html (accessed 10-25-21).
2. COVID-19 Vaccine Statistics. Our World in Data. Available at: https://www.google.com/search?q=covid-19+vaccination+rate+in+Arizona&rlz=1C1GCEA_enUS969US969&ei=jdF2YeeSEZ-e0PEP7MCJCA&ved=0ahUKEwinjYi49OXzAhUfDzQIHWxgAgEQ4dUDCA4&uact=5&oq=covid-19+vaccination+rate+in+Arizona&gs_lcp=Cgdnd3Mtd2l6EAMyBggAEBYQHjIFCAAQhgMyBQgAEIYDOgcIABBHELADOgUIABCABEoECEEYAFCl3hJYmuUSYK_sEmgBcAJ4AIABnAGIAbgGkgEDMS42mAEAoAEByAEIwAEB&sclient=gws-wiz (accessed 10-25-21).

Cite as: Robbins RA. SWJPCC Associate Editor Featured in Albuquerque Journal. Southwest J Pulm Crit Care. 2021;23:104-6. doi: https://doi.org/10.13175/swjpcc049-21 PDF 

CDC Warns of Increased Ivermectin Overdoses

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is warning of an increase in cases of ivermectin overdose due to people self-prescribing the drug in an effort to prevent or treat COVID-19 (1). Ivermectin is used to treat river blindness and intestinal roundworm infection in humans and to de-worm pets and livestock. 

A study published earlier this year showed that ivermectin killed SARS-CoV-2 in cells in vitro. The authors proposed that the medication be investigated as a cheap and easily available treatment for COVID-19. However, subsequent studies have failed to find any benefit in humans (3).

In a new communication to its Health Alert Network, the CDC says cases of overdose and misuse are rising (1). More than 88,000 prescriptions were written for the drug ivermectin in the week ending August 13, an increase of 2400% over the weekly average prior to the COVID-19 pandemic (Figure 1).

Figure 1. Ivermectin prescriptions by week (from CDC, reference 1).

Unfortunately, the signs of overdose are nonspecific but can include gastrointestinal symptoms (nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea), hypotension and altered mental status (change in consciousness, confusion, hallucinations, seizures, coma).

The CDC is asking doctors to alert their patients to the risks of ivermectin, particularly ivermectin products intended for veterinary use. Physicians might suspect ivermectin in a patient with unexplained symptoms and are encouraged to contact their local poison control for assistance.

References

1. CDC. Rapid Increase in Ivermectin Prescriptions and Reports of Severe Illness Associated with Use of Products Containing Ivermectin to Prevent or Treat COVID-19. August 26, 2021. Available at: https://emergency.cdc.gov/han/2021/han00449.asp (accessed 8/27/21).
2. Caly L, Druce JD, Catton MG, Jans DA, Wagstaff KM. The FDA-approved drug ivermectin inhibits the replication of SARS-CoV-2 in vitro. Antiviral Res. 2020 Jun;178:104787. [CrossRef] [PubMed]
3. Popp M, Stegemann M, Metzendorf MI, Gould S, Kranke P, Meybohm P, Skoetz N, Weibel S. Ivermectin for preventing and treating COVID-19. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2021 Jul 28;7:CD015017. [CrossRef] [PubMed]

Cite as: Robbins RA. CDC Warns of Increased Ivermectin Overdoses. Southwest J Pulm Crit Care. 2021;23(2):62-3. doi: https://doi.org/10.13175/swjpcc038-21 PDF 

Healthcare Layoffs During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Despite overcrowding of the ICUs with patients infected with coronavirus (COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2), hospitals have halted or downsized other operations. Phoenix-based Banner Health, which is Arizona's largest private employer, will impose "short-term" furloughs and pay cuts for some employees (1). Other major hospitals and hospital systems including the Mayo Clinic Arizona, Dignity Health, Tucson Medical Center and Carondelet have announced similar cost-cutting reductions. Banner Health, which has approximately 43,000 employees in Arizona, is starting the furloughs this week. The nonprofit company anticipates that the measures will affect 5% to 7% of its workforce, or up to 3,000 Arizona employees. The company says the furloughs are temporary and employees will be eligible for unemployment benefits, including an extra $600 per week provided by Arizona via the federal CARES Act. All senior leaders, including senior vice presidents, presidents, vice presidents and CEOs, will take up to a 20% reduction in pay beginning in May, Banner said. The company will pause hiring for most non-clinical, non-revenue-generating positions across the organization. This includes newly created jobs as well as vacant roles in the corporate office and facilities. The company will continue to post and recruit for positions that are essential to meet the needs of COVID-19.

An analysis by the Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association shows Arizona hospitals are reporting revenue losses of 30% to 40% because of the cancellation of elective procedures and a reduction in emergency department visits. Hospitals had an operating margin, the difference between revenues and expenses, that averaged 2.7% in 2016 (2). The hospital association has asked Arizona’s governor, Doug Ducey, to relax his executive orders on halting elective surgeries and on expanding hospital bed capacity, citing recent modeling projections that indicate Arizona will not be as hard-hit by the disease as previously was predicted.

It is unclear how other healthcare organizations other than hospitals are managing during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our small pulmonary practice has been shut down since mid-March although we are doing some telemedicine. Yet compared to the large healthcare systems, we have managed to retain all our employees at a full-time basis as of today. Our group did apply for a small business loan to the Federal government which was denied.

Richard A. Robbins, MD

Editor, SWJPCC

References

1. Innes S. Banner Health, Arizona's largest health system, to implement pay cuts and furloughs. Arizona Republic. April 20, 2020. Available at: https://www.azcentral.com/story/money/business/health/2020/04/20/banner-health-implement-pay-cuts-and-furloughs-arizona-coronavirus-covid-19/5165992002/ (accessed 4/21/20).
2. Moody's Investors Service. Moody's: preliminary FY 2016 US NFP hospital medians edge lower on revenue, expense pressure. Moody's. 16 May 2017. https://www.moodys.com/research/Moodys-Preliminary-FY-2016-US-NFP-hospital-medians-edge-lower--PR_366813 Accessed 4/21/20.

Cite as: Robbins RA. Healthcare layoffs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Southwest J Pulm Crit Care. 2020;20(4):135-6. doi: https://doi.org/10.13175/swjpcc029-20 PDF