Sanford Pulmonologist Co-Authors Peer-Reviewed COVID-19 Paper in Medical Journal

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.