Kenneth Remy, MD

Prolonged hospitalization, longstanding breathing difficulties, and a high death rate are common hallmarks of severe COVID-19 disease, especially in the intensive care unit. There is evidence suggesting that individuals with severe COVID-19 disease have a paralyzed or suppressed immune system and a decreased ability to eliminate the infection from the body. To discover treatments that restore immune function, we must better understand what causes the immune system to fail. We will study COVID-19 ICU patients throughout their hospitalization to define the relationship between the quantity of virus found deep in the lungs with the overall function of the immune system. We will compare the quantity of virus in the lung at various ICU timepoints with immune system signals of function to determine if patients with high levels of virus also have a suppressed immune system. In those patients, we will identify the cause of their immune suppression. With this information, we will start to apply therapies to restore immune function and improve patient outcomes.

Update:
Since the Omicron variant has been the prevailing circulating COVID-19 strain in early 2022 to present, severity of illness has dramatically declined with very minimal admissions to the hospital, and long COVID symptoms have dramatically waned. Because of these changes, we have broadened our focus to viral acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) of all causes, compared to presumed or suspected bacterial ARDS. This year, we have been able to further refine our immunologic testing in related sepsis and pneumonia patients in the absence of ARDS. We also enhanced our understanding of viral-induced lower respiratory tract infection (pneumonia and bronchiolitis) in children. We enrolled 37 children with similar immune profiles and will follow their disease and health trajectory over one year from hospitalization. This data has further enriched our ability to develop specific subtypes of disease and evaluation of potentially beneficial therapies that may be useful for application of therapies.