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WashU CT hosts Inaugural STL Shock Symposium

Leading experts in the field of cardiothoracic surgery, cardiology, anesthesia, and intensive care are preparing to dive into a breadth of topics at the inaugural St. Louis Shock Symposium.

St. Louis Shock Symposium, scheduled for November 20 and 21 at The Ritz-Carlton Hotel in St. Louis, sets the stage for physicians, surgeons, trainees, nurses and more to gain insight into critical conditions such cardiogenic shock, COVID-19 related acute respiratory distress syndrome and pulmonary embolism.

Muhammad Faraz Masood, MD, Associate Professor of Cardiac Surgery, will lead the symposium and its extensive curriculum dedicated to helping medical professionals understand the optimal treatment for these conditions.

“Patients with critical cardiogenic shock and severe respiratory distress are critically ill,” says Masood, who is also director of the Extracorporeal Life Support (ECLS) Program at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. “These patients require rapid identification of stage of shock, various traditional and advanced modalities to arrest and possibly reverse clinical deterioration. The St. Louis Shock Symposium will address, discuss and inform on these critical issues.”

The conference’s curriculum also emphasizes pulmonary embolism, the role of pulmonary embolism response teams (PERT teams) and robust and viable ECLS program development. Experts in the fields of cardiology, cardiothoracic surgery, and radiology will discuss case presentations and hold a debate regarding ELCS and ventilator management along with nursing leadership explaining nurses’ roles in ELCS.

In addition to invited lecturers from across the country, cardiac surgeons Akinobu Itoh, MD, PhD, and Kunal Kotkar, MD, will join Masood as moderators and presenters in several sessions at the conference. Thoracic surgeon Varun Puri, MD, will also present a lecture on tracheostomy procedures in patients on ECLS.

“Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, we have witnessed the virus’s impact on a patient’s heart and lungs first-hand,” says Masood. “This conference gives us a unique opportunity to share our knowledge and put together our minds to identify the optimal treatments at our disposal to lead our patients suffering with these conditions to recovery.”

To register for the conference, discover the full agenda and view the list of invited speakers, please visit the St. Louis Shock Symposium website.