Christine McCusker, Canada

Associate professor

Pediatrics

Montreal Children's Hospital, McGill University Health Center

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Dogma suggests that immunosuppression increases risks with infection.  At the start of pandemic COVID-19 there was a rush by many physicians to isolate patients receiving immunosuppressive therapies, in the form of biological immune response modifiers, and to, in some cases, stop the biological therapies that were being used to treat underlying medical conidtions including autoimmunity.  The panedemic is now >10 months old and evidence suggests is likely to continue for the next 6-12 months (conservative estimate).  What do we offer these patients? How does our current knowledge regarding the immune response to SARS-CO-V2 inform our decision making moving forward.  

This is a case based interactive workshop.  Case examples will be used to illustrate clinical reasoning strategies to optimize patient management. Participants are welcome to bring challenging cases to the forum for discussion.

As a result of attending this session, participants will be able to:

• Describe the immunological events occuring in mild, moderate and severe COVID infection
• Discuss the risks of  COVID-19 in patients on biological immunosuppression and know the knowledge gaps
• Develop a clinical reasoning strategy to offer patients of the "best" options during the pandemic

Lectures by Christine McCusker