115 total COVID patients are being treated at The University of Kansas Health System today, down from 125 Friday. Other significant numbers:
- 43 with the active virus, 49 Friday
- 4 in ICU, 10 Friday
- 3 on ventilators, same as Friday
- 72 hospitalized but out of acute infection phase, 75 yesterday
Key points from today’s guests:
Brian Doyle Murray, Hollywood actor and health system patient
- Smoked for 48 years before quitting 16 years ago. Was not easy but feels a lot better now.
- Suffered collapsed lung while watching TV at home, common in smokers. Happened one month after undergoing procedures for unrelated heart problems.
- Heart and lung teams fixed his problems, helping him resume a great quality of life
- His advice for everyone is to trust your inner voice when it comes to your health.
Dr. Nirmal Veeramachaneni, thoracic surgeon
- Long-term smoking qualified Brian for lung cancer screening program. Those over 50, have smoked at least 20 pack years and have not quit in last 15 years are eligible.
- Screenings can cut lung cancer deaths by 20%, but pandemic has kept people from those screenings. Many now have later stage lung cancer
- We’re all born with perfect lungs and over a lifetime things deteriorate. Smoking hits the accelerator on the rate of decline. Marijuana smoking makes it worse
- Vaping worse than smoking. Teenagers and 20-year-olds who vape now developing lung problems that normally take several decades of smoking to develop
Dr. Steve Stites, chief medical officer, The University of Kansas Health System
- COVID case numbers are down, but still a lot higher than a year ago. Still have more than 10% of hospital beds with COVID patients
- Need to be careful when applying new CDC mask guidelines. “It’s not a get out of jail free card,” and keep wearing if you feel unsafe or are unsafe.
- Taking off masks comes with responsibility. Keep it on if you are in an area with high disease transmission and high hospital admissions.
Dr. Dana Hawkinson, medical director, Infection Prevention and Control
- As COVID cases decline, we’re seeing an increase in the supplies of outpatient oral therapies and monoclonal antibody treatments
- Warmer weather and outdoor activities will hopefully reduce risk of COVID.
Tuesday, March 1 at 8:00 a.m. is the next Morning Medical Update. More and more people in their 20's and 30's are developing colon cancer, once believed to mainly affect just older people. As we begin Colon Cancer Awareness Month, we'll talk to one of those younger colon cancer survivors about her experience and show you why screening is key.
ATTENTION: media procedure for joining:
Zoom link: https://kumc-ois.zoom.us/j/7828978628
Telephone Zoom link: 1-312-626-6799, meeting ID: 782 897 8628
TVU Grid link: UoK_Health_SDI
Restream links: Facebook.com/kuhospital
YouTube.com/kuhospital
Send advance questions to medicalnewsnetwork@kumc.edu.
