The COVID-19 Infection Inflammation Equation

SEPTI ADE PAMUJI / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

The uncertainty is certain
Let us draw up the curtain
Unmask this serial killer’s intention.
Attack of its clones gone viral
Made distancing societal
Disrupting every human convention.

Humble hydroxychloroquine
Now forced into the scene
Telehealth bridges our care.
Drive-thru testing
PPE and sanitizing
Social media fills the air.

But let’s not be deceived
This virus evilly conceived
A plan to evade the immune system:
Inducing cytokine storm
Wanting ARDS to be the norm
Treatment data still a schism.

We will beat this pandemic
Through strategies systemic
From handwashing to quarantine.
Forefront professionals
Relearning the essentials
To defeat you, COVID-nineteen!

As we navigate each Zoom lecture
At this oddly remote juncture
We dissect this murderer’s crime.
Blending infection with inflammation:
COVID-19 + (2)lungs + (1)heart + multi-organ x (n)Rheum …
… Equals one life at a time.  

Candice Reyes, MD, RhMSUS, is an associate professor at UCSF Fresno.