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(Pictured left to right) Aruna Subramanian, M.D., Co-Director, Transplant Infectious Disease (I.D.) Service, Michelle Bahrain, D.O., Instructor of Medicine, Shelly Magill, M.D., Assistant Professor, and Lesia Dropulic, M.D., Co-Director, Transplant I.D. Service |
"Transplant patients are very complex in terms of diagnosis. When their lab tests come back with elevated white blood counts, it is our group that is called in to solve the puzzle," says Lesia Dropulic, M.D., Co-Director of the Transplant Infectious Disease (I.D.) Service at Johns Hopkins.
Behind the scenes, the transplant nurse coordinators and physicians are frequently in contact with the Transplant I.D. group. For example, a coordinator may consult the Transplant I.D. specialists whenever a patient has a concern over any type of infectious disease - from repeated urinary tract infections to a possible history of tuberculousus.
The Transplant I.D. group holds a regular clinic every week to see transplant patients. They also consult with patients, as needed, during patients’ transplant evaluations, prior to transplantation, during their hospital recovery or follow up visits.Look for answers to your transplant I.D. questions in future issues of this newsletter.
Transplant I.D.Service - a History
The Transplant Infectious Disease team is a fulltime service with four dedicated professionals (see photo and caption). Their purpose is to educate patients and staff on the prevention, treatment and impact of infectious diseases within the Hopkins transplant community. This specialty was not always available at Hopkins. Indeed, there are few dedicated services of this type at any center.
Before 2002 at Hopkins, there were no formal resources available to develop an I.D. service for transplant patients. However, one physician, Dr. Pamela Tucker recognized that this field has a significant impact on patients whose immune systems are suppressed - that is, transplant patients. Dr. Tucker dedicated much of her time to investigating how the Hopkins general I.D. service could help transplant patients. She shared her commitment to uncovering the transplant I.D. mysteries with two of her colleagues, Lesia Dropulic, M.D. and Aruna Subramanian, M.D.
After Tucker passed away four years ago, her colleagues wanted to carry on her legacy. Says Subramanian, "There was a clear need for this service. So we approached the hospital administration and together, created the ‘Tucker Transplant Infectious Disease Service’. We all owe a lot to Pamela Tucker."
