Top Doc At Secaucus Hospital: We're Seeing Much Fewer Deaths

SECAUCUS, NJ — In a conference call that he holds at the end of every week with reporters, Dr. Nizar Kifaieh, the top doctor and president of Hudson Regional Hospital in Secaucus, had some very positive news to share this Friday.

"We're doing so much better with our patients: We're seeing a lot less intubations (patients being put on a ventilator), a lot less expirations (deaths) and a lot more discharges," said Dr. Kifaieh. "Why? It has a lot to do with a better understanding of the disease ourselves."

This is a stark difference from just one week ago, when the hospital was desperate for nursing staff, and had nearly a dozen coronavirus patients dying every day.

"This week, we are averaging one death per 24 hours. In the past, we've had as many as 10 deaths in 24 hours. For a small hospital, that's really bad," said Dr. Kifaieh. "The number of intubations has also significantly gone down; I would say by more than 50 percent."

Dr. Kifaieh said doctors were at first bewildered by how to treat coronavirus, and saw many fatalities.

"For example, no one knew in the beginning that this would cause big blood clots all over the patient's body; nobody knew this could cause renal failure," he said. "Some of these patients — as soon as they were intubated, very quickly they expired."

However, the past few weeks has taught doctors an extraordinary amount, he said. He said Hudson Regional doctors have been talking to doctors at nearby hospitals about how to best treat COVID-19. He said one of the biggest things they've learned is the timing of certain drugs, including steroids and Actemra, a rheumatoid arthritis drug that was used with success in China.

"So right now when they walk in the door, we are identifying patients at risk for blood clots in their lungs or legs or blood vessels. We've noticed that when you intervene at a certain point — giving steroids — we realized they don't need to be intubated anymore. Their respiratory function improves very quickly," he said. "If you do steroids at the right time, you can keep them off the vent machine. To have these patients go from dying to being extubated is very rewarding. It's very stressful as a healthcare provider to see patients expire."

He said the hospital's use of AIDS anti-viral remdesivir has been limited, and he was also hesitant to tout the benefits of buzzy anti-malarial hydroxychloroquine. He also said the hospital is "not quite there" on immunity testing, antibody testing and plasma blood treatments, although the hospital is signed up for Mayo Clinic’s plasma transfusion study.

He said the Secaucus hospital has been giving hydrocholorquinine for weeks, but that "by itself it wasn't saving lives. It was the first line of treatment for a long time ... but we still had patients die. By itself it wasn't saving lives; we had to put in a lot of different treatments."

The local hospital also hasn't been overwhelmed by COVID-19 patients, something officials were terrified would happen. That's likely due to the success of people social distancing. As of Friday, April 17, Hudson Regional has about 70 patients in beds, and has the capacity to handle double that, he said.

COVID admissions to Hudson Regional still remain steady and Dr. Kifaieh reiterated his call that patients should not wait too long at home if they think they have it and are not improving. Waiting too long for treatment can be fatal, he said

"A lot of these patients are waiting too long at home to come for care," he said. "If you are sick, come to the ER."

In total, 65 patients have died from COVID-19 at Hudson Regional.

Dr. Kifaieh also said the mood inside the Secaucus hospital is much improved from last week.

"The morale in the hospital is fantastic. And a lot of that has to do with how many success stories we've been having," he said. "Before, a lot of patients were passing and it was very stressful. These days, we announce on the overhead whenever a COVID patient goes home and everyone cheers."

"To me, when I see the number of patients expiring go down; the number of patients being put on vents go down and the number of discharges going up — Those are great indicators that the worst is somewhat being put behind us," said Dr. Kifaieh. "I'm very optimistic, and I think the worst is behind us. I see this thing improving in the next couple weeks."

Related: 2 Secaucus Residents Die; Town Hospital 'Desperate' For Nurses (April 5)