Sanford pulmonologist co-authors COVID-19 paper
April 21, 2022
Contact:
Vanessa Vondra
Sanford Health Media Relations
605-366-2432 / Vanessa.Vondra@sanfordhealth.org
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Sanford Health pulmonologist, Paul Berger III, DO, FACOI, FCCP, is the co-author of a peer-reviewed, published paper that looks at the process of how critically ill patients are treated, specifically how to identify effective pharmacotherapies in a reasonable amount of time.
“Clinical trial design during and beyond the pandemic: the I-SPY COVID trial” has been published in Nature Medicine, a monthly journal that publishes original peer-reviewed research in all areas of medicine.
The clinical trial streamlined the process in the beginning of the pandemic to find effective therapies to combat the virus for patients with severe COVID-19. Authors of the study hope the I-SPY COVID trial design will be used for other critically ill patients in the future, who are trying to find a therapeutic discovery.
“When I think back to the beginning of the pandemic in 2020, there was much uncertainty surrounding how to treat this devastating new infection. It was evident data would be vital to get these critically ill patients appropriate treatments,” said Berger. “I’m proud to have been part of history with the I-SPY COVID trial and among a prestigious group of authors from all over the world.”
In addition to Sanford Health, the co-authors of the study are from a group of prestigious affiliations including the University of California-San Francisco, Columbia University-Irving Medical Center in New York, Karolinska Institute in Sweden, and the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine.
Berger is a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine, who provides pulmonary, critical and neurocritical care to patients at Sanford Health in Sioux Falls, SD. He performs a variety of procedures, including airway stent placement, external ventricular drain (EVD) placement and intracranial pressure (ICP) monitor placement. He is the first physician in South Dakota and the first Sanford Health physician to offer the Monarch Platform, a robotic pulmonary tool. The Monarch Platform helps physicians make lung disorder diagnoses earlier to provide more effective treatments and improved patient outcomes. Berger teaches at several schools, including University of South Dakota Sanford School of Medicine, Idaho College of Osteopathic Medicine and Kansas Health Sciences Center. He is board certified in internal medicine, pulmonary medicine, and critical care by the American Osteopathic Board of Internal Medicine. Berger is also board certified in neurocritical care through the United Council of Neurologic Subspecialties.
About Sanford Health
Sanford Health, the largest rural health system in the United States, is dedicated to transforming the health care experience and providing access to world-class health care in America’s heartland. Headquartered in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, the organization serves more than one million patients and 220,000 health plan members across 250,000 square miles. The integrated health system has 47 medical centers, 2,800 Sanford physicians and advanced practice providers, 170 clinical investigators and research scientists, more than 200 Good Samaritan Society senior care locations and world clinics in 8 countries around the globe. Learn more about Sanford Health’s commitment to shaping the future of rural health care across the lifespan at sanfordhealth.org or Sanford Health News.
