The University of Kansas Health System is treating a total of 46 COVID patients today, 49 Thursday. Other significant numbers:

•  21 with the active virus today, 25 Thursday
•  5 in ICU, 5 Thursday
•  2 on a ventilator, 3 Thursday

Key points from today’s guests:

Sherry Noller, former patient

• Sherry had persistent pelvic pain, but her doctors in Joplin, Missouri, did not find anything wrong on her tests.
• One doctor said they did not believe that Pelvic Congestion Syndrome was the issue, and recommended a complete hysterectomy, so she started to do research online and contacted The University of Kansas Health System for a second opinion.
• Her doctor at the Health System was able to accurately diagnose her and treat her without a hysterectomy.
• This health issue is now behind her, and she is able to be active and healthy.
• She encourages people to be careful when doing online searches – look at legitimate health and hospital organization information and keep an open mind about what you are looking for.

Dr. Aaron Rohr, vascular & interventional radiologist, The University of Kansas Health System

• Pelvic Congestion Syndrome is congestion of the veins in the pelvis. Those veins can get dilated and can start affecting other structures in the body adjacent to the pelvis, including the uterus, ovaries, nerves, and more.
• The symptoms can overlap with many other causes of pelvic pain, and unfortunately, other health professionals can become dismissive because of that.
• Information about this medical issue has grown throughout the medical community, so there is now more imaging criteria and diagnostics to help better diagnose it.
• Treatment for Sherry involved a procedure that went through her jugular vein, avoiding the need for a hysterectomy.
• Applauds patients like Sherry who become their own best advocate and help doctors explore possibilities of what the problem might be. It is important to build that relationship with the patient to work together for a diagnosis and treatment.

Dr. Tim Williamson, vice president of quality & safety, The University of Kansas Health System

• Employees at The University of Kansas Health System are empowered to identify potential safety issues and alert leadership.
• With a new version of a gait strap – a canvas belt designed to help patients walk – one employee noticed that the new belt was not as effective in helping keep patients steady, so they brought that issue to management and the Health System realized that the new versions were not up to standard as the older versions, so they replaced the gait belts.
• The Health System also notified the FDA, which shared the notification with hospitals across the country in order to help protect patients.

Monday, February 6, is the next Morning Medical Update. The second leading cause of lung cancer may be permeating your home and you don’t even realize it. It’s a colorless, odorless gas called radon, and we’ll show you how to identify and test for it.

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