Drs. Simpson, Hogarth, and Moores told Reddit to ask them anything—here’s what happened next.
“Is there an organ or system that sepsis generally targets?”
“If I’m going to be in the back of a cramped car cross country for 16 hours straight, should I take an aspirin beforehand to cut down risk of DVT?”
“Hello Doctor. Does thermoplasty have any application for bronchiectasis patients, like myself?”
Dr. Kyle Hogarth
Within the science AMA subsection, users have the ability to post a topic or questions about anything and respond to other users. AMA, which stands for “Ask Me Anything,” describes the conversation happening between the user and the host of the topic. Users have the ability to ask questions related to the topic, or even ‘upvote’ particular questions that they would like answered. An ‘upvote’ moves a question or comment to the top of the page to become more visible to the host. AMAs can become trending topics on Reddit through ‘upvotes’, as well.
In an effort to help educate and inform individuals on advancements in chest medicine education, clinical research, and team-based care, CHEST has connected specialists with a deep passion for topics in pulmonary, critical care, and sleep medicine to an audience filled with questions ready to be answered. Some of the topics we’ve covered include:
- Sepsis with Dr. Steven Q. Simpson, FCCP, who is a pulmonologist, intensivist, CHEST board member, and a sepsis researcher and expert. Dr. Simpson discussed the recent consensus statement on sepsis diagnosis. The statement aimed to redefine the diagnostic criteria of sepsis and eliminate the concept of the systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS). Dr. Simpson shared his rebuttal New Sepsis Guidelines: A Change We Should Not Make in the journal CHEST. Dr. Simpson’s statement expressed the concern that widespread application of this new SIRS definition could cost patient lives, and it should not be adopted. This AMA was upvoted 784 times.
- Asthma and bronchial thermoplasty with Dr. D. Kyle Hogarth, FCCP, who is a pulmonologist, member of CHEST, and the first physician in Illinois to perform bronchial thermoplasty, a nonpharmaceutical treatment for severe asthma. This AMA was upvoted 3,112 times.
- DVT with Dr. Lisa K. Moores, FCCP, who is a pulmonologist, member of CHEST, and an expert on thrombosis. Dr. Moores discussed VTE, DVT, and PE. This AMA was upvoted 903 times.
Hosting Reddit AMAs has allowed CHEST to not only reach a more public-facing audience but also health-care providers outside of chest medicine. Stepping into this platform has allowed us to position CHEST as a subject matter expert in topics like asthma, sepsis, and DVT/VTE. These AMAs have helped people to understand the role our members play within health-care by showcasing new and emerging treatments and raising public awareness of health conditions.
If you are interested in sharing your knowledge on a specific topic on Reddit, you can contact CHEST’s New Media Specialist Taylor Pecko-Reid, at tpeckoreid@chestnet.org.