Monoclonal antibodies saved Brad and Paula from worsening COVID-19 illness.
Brad Nicholson, 59, began feeling under the weather just prior to Christmas 2020. Waking with worsening symptoms on Christmas morning, Brad and his wife Paula called their children and grandchildren and told them not to visit as planned.
Very early the next morning, Brad searched the symptoms of COVID-19 online, checking off nearly every one listed. Knowing he should be tested, while online he scheduled a COVID-19 test for noon that day at a nearby pharmacy. When he woke Paula and told her he had scheduled a test, she felt ill and wanted to get tested as well. Unable to schedule another test at the same pharmacy, they scheduled an afternoon appointment for her at a different pharmacy. Their symptoms included chills; muscle, joint and back pain; diarrhea; a runny, stuffy nose; headaches; a loss of sense of taste and strange sense of smell issues; but not a high fever.
“The symptoms were somewhat manageable at home, but we knew we were getting sicker,” says Brad. “I could feel the virus loading up in my chest.”
A former smoker, Brad had suffered with and was susceptible to bronchitis and pneumonia. Paula suffers with asthma. Both were at high risk of severe illness from the virus.
Positive results
Paula’s result came first, on December 28. Positive. Knowing Brad’s would be positive as well, they called their family doctor, Robin Znidarsic, MD. They met virtually with her physician assistant Michael Peterson, who, based on their circumstances and risk factors, advised Brad not to wait for his pharmacy test results, but to schedule a rapid test right away at the Brunner Sanden Deitrick Wellness Campus Urgent Care. Just 40 minutes after the test, Brad got the result: positive.
Monoclonal antibodies: A new option
Right away, Dr. Znidarsic’s office called Brad and Paula and offered to schedule them for a new therapy: monoclonal antibody treatment. Monoclonal antibodies neutralize the COVID-19 virus by binding to it and blocking the virus from entering the cell. Monoclonal antibodies are given by IV infusion in a new infusion center opened specifically for this COVID-19 treatment in the West Medical Center Physician Pavilion. The IV treatment, approved under Emergency Use Authorization by the FDA, is available for high risk patients who have tested positive for COVID-19 and are within 10 days of symptom onset.
“The goal is to keep high-risk patients from getting sicker and keep them out of the hospital,” Dr. Znidarsic says.
“Any physician can refer an eligible* patient to Dr. Robin Znidarsic, physician advisor for outpatient monoclonal antibody treatment, who has a virtual appointment with them and then schedules the infusion,” says Beth Krause, RPh, director of Pharmacy at Lake Health. “She’s turning patients around so quickly. From its opening in December through early February, we had already treated more than 100 high-risk patients.”
“The sooner, the better,” confirms Dr. Znidarsic. “If we can treat them within the first few days of symptoms, it will be much more effective. If there’s an opening in the infusion schedule the day they get diagnosed and either I or physician assistants Abbey Cicero or Michael Peterson see them, we can send them immediately for treatment.”
Quick action and treatment
Rapid tested at 11:30 am. Results at 12:10 pm. By 2 pm, Brad and Paula were being prepped for the monoclonal antibody infusion.
“It was that fast! The effort Michael Peterson and Dr. Znidarsic put forth to help us get this treatment was amazing,” says Brad. “The infusion center nurses were incredible: Their bedside manner, their knowledge, their positive attitudes and their willingness to be there with patients they knew were infected with this deadly virus, putting their lives on the line for us. We are so grateful.”
The infusion took an hour, and after another hour of observation they went home.
“The way Paula and I were declining prior to antibody treatment, we feel that if we hadn’t gotten it, we would have been in trouble. We can’t thank everyone enough.”
Brad and Paula recovered and have no lingering effects of COVID-19. They plan to get the COVID-19 vaccine when they’re eligible.
You should know:
Lake Health offers standard and rapid COVID-19 testing by appointment.
Any physician can refer an eligible* high-risk patient to Dr. Robin Znidarsic for monoclonal antibody infusion.
*Eligible patients
Patients eligible for monoclonal antibody infusion must meet one or more of the following criteria:
- Age 65 or older
- Have a body mass index (BMI) of 35 or greater
- Have chronic kidney disease
- Have diabetes mellitus
- Have immunosuppressive disease or currently receiving immunosuppressive treatment
- Age 55 or older AND have cardiovascular disease, hypertension or chronic pulmonary/respiratory disease
Patients who are NOT candidates:
- Pregnant
- Hospitalized due to COVID-19
- Requiring oxygen therapy related to COVID-19
- Requiring an increased oxygen flow rate due to COVID-19 in those on chronic oxygen therapy.
Patients receiving monoclonal antibodies may not receive COVID-19 vaccine for 90 days after this treatment.
Meet the providers
Robin Znidarsic, MD
Family medicine
Office: Mentor, 440-255-7938
Abigail Cicero, PA-C
Family medicine
Office: Mentor, 440-255-7938
Michael Peterson, PA-C
Family medicine
Office: Mentor, 440-255-7938
