What you need to know
Hackensack was awarded the 2019 Star Award for Research Excellence from the Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM) Congress in San Diego for participating in a study entitled, “Monocyte Distribution Width (MDW), A Novel Indicator of Sepsis-2 and Sepsis-3 in High Risk Emergency Department Patients.”
Details about the study
Led by Joseph E. Parrillo, M.D., chair of the Heart and Vascular Hospital and the Justice Marie L. Garibaldi Endowed Chair at Hackensack, the study enrolled 2,158 patients who sought treatment in emergency departments. Hackensack, one of three health care facilities selected to participate, provided more than 700 study participants.
The research team at Hackensack, led by Dr. Parrillo, included:
- Joseph Parrillo, M.D., chair of the Heart and Vascular Hospital
- Keri Bicking, Pharm D., Department of Pharmacy
- Patricia Arakelian RN, BSN, CCRC, CCRP, research nurse coordinator and manager, Cardiovascular Research
- David Lai RN, BSN, research nurse coordinator
- Peter M. Canino, RN, BS., RCIS, research nurse coordinator
- Jana Tancredi, RN, MA/MSN, CCRN, research nurse coordinator
- Deborah O'Neill, CCRP, research coordinator
- Lisa McFarlane, Ph.D., manager, Laboratory Operations
- Kaushika Gandhi, medical technologist level III, Laboratory
- Maria-Elena Andrews-Sanchez, medical technologist level III, Laboratory
- Patricia Ferranda, RN, project lead
- Jennifer Kleven, M.D., attending physician, Emergency and Trauma Center
- Paarth Raj, D.O., attending physician Emergency and Trauma Center
- Gabrielle Procopio, PharmD, BCPS, emergency medicine clinical pharmacist and director, PGY2 Emergency Medicine Pharmacy Residency Program
Dr. Parrillo says the next step is a Decision Impact Study.
“Sepsis and septic shock are real challenges in American Medicine today,” said Dr. Parrillo. “If a patient develops septic shock, the mortality rate is 40-50 percent. This study shows that a new blood test, called the Monocyte Distribution Width (MDW), significantly helps in the diagnosis of sepsis and septic shock and provides substantial added value compare to current sepsis screening approaches.”
