Clinical Manifestations in Post Acute Infection Syndromes: Special Series from The Cohen Center for Recovery from Complex Chronic Illnesses at Mount Sinai

In a word cloud generated from this episode of Raise the Line, ‘communication’ would dominate: communication between the immune system, nervous system and connective tissue; communication between patients and providers; and communication among providers to solve challenging diagnostic puzzles. As our special series on post-acute infection syndromes continues, host Raven Baxter of the Cohen Center for Recovery from Complex Chronic Illnesses (CoRE) is joined by neurologist Dr. Ilene Ruhoy, immunologist Dr. Anne Maitland and physical therapist Dr. Valerie Iovine Rogers to unravel the interconnectedness at work in these diseases and reveal key insights about caring for patients. “In the complex disease world, there isn’t a nice protocol that we have in other parts of medicine, so it takes a lot of listening and a lot of trial and error,” says Dr. Ruhoy. “The most important thing is to continue digging into that story and building that practitioner-patient relationship so that there's trust there,” adds Dr. Maitland. All agree that a lack of specialists in mast cell activation syndrome, hypermobility disorders and related areas puts a premium on developing referral networks so that diagnostic roadblocks do not end the search for answers. “It really harps on the importance of an interdisciplinary care team where all of us have to communicate with one another and educate the patient so they know what they're advocating for and where they need to go,” Dr. Rogers explains. Don’t miss this instructive conversation on both the art of patient care and the science of these often debilitating illnesses. 

Mentioned in this episode:

Mount Sinai Health System 

Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation