Dr. François Abi Fadel (FM, 2005) marks the year 2023 with a successful publication in the prestigious journal JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association).

This article which was the result of a collaboration within the Cleveland Clinic, reveals the effectiveness of ritonavir-boosted nirmatrelvir (Paxlovid) and molnupiravir (Lagevrio) which are common COVID-19 antiviral drugs, in reducing hospitalization and mortality among high-risk patients with mild disease, even in the presence of Omicron subvariants. The study analyzed nearly 70,000 COVID-19 patients treated at the Cleveland Clinic from April 2022 to February 2023, showing overall a 40% reduction in the combined risk of hospitalization and death which is less than what was previously reported in the initial clinical trial. However, when looking at death alone it showed a robust 84% reduction in the risk of death with nirmatrelvir and a 77% reduction with molnupiravir. Importantly, these treatments proved effective across various patient subgroups and against the emerging strains of Omicron. These findings support the continued use of these oral antiviral drugs in preventing severe outcomes in high-risk non-hospitalized COVID-19 patients and underscore the significance of COVID-19 testing, vaccination, preventive measures and still effective treatments.

The observational research and article were a huge success and in less than five days, it was featured on more than 39 media channels, journals and newspapers including NBC News, Forbes, Bloomberg, Medical Press, Pharmacy Times, News Medical, Medscape, MPR, Yahoo News, WebMD, Medpage Today, Eurekalert, Arizona Daily Star, Tribune Newspaper, Medscape, as well as in the Nouvelles du Monde and in Germany on Aerzteblatt.de and mdr.de 

Dr. Abi Fadel holds the position of Associate Professor of Medicine with the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo in Buffalo, New York. Previously he served as Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine with the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University. He was the Program Director of International Pulmonary Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic Main Campus and Global Ambassador of the Cleveland Clinic to the European Region. He was also elected president of the Ohio Thoracic Society chapter of the American Thoracic Society in 2021. Dr. François Abi Fadel is an Alumnus of the Faculty of Medicine (FM) at USJ. He earned his Doctor of Medicine degree in 2005 before relocating to the United States.

François Abi Fadel, new article in CHEST

François Abi Fadel, un parcours couronné de succès