INTERVENTIONAL PULMONARY GROUP

Kevin Kovitz, MD, MBA
Interventional Pulmonologist
Professor of Medicine and Surgery
kkovitz@uic.edu

Kevin Haas, MD
Interventional Pulmonologist
Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine
kphaas@uic.edu

Chris Kapp, MD
Interventional Pulmonologist
Clinical Instructor of Medicine
ckapp@uic.edu

Mary Pasquinelli, DNP, FNP-BC
Nurse Practitioner
Lung Cancer Screening & Lung Nodule Clinic
mpasqu3@uic.edu

Marisol Munoz, MSN, FNP-BC
Nurse Practitioner
Lung Cancer Screening Coordinator, Pulmonary nodules
Mmunoz17@uic.edu

The Interventional Pulmonology Group at UIC includes Dr. Kevin Kovitz, Dr. Kevin Haas, Dr. Christopher Kapp, Dr. Mary Pasquinelli, and Marisol Munoz, FNP. We have a strong focus in clinical research directed on the advancement in screening, diagnostic, and therapeutic options for lung cancer. UI Health has recently implemented a new ION robotic-assisted bronchoscopy program. This highly sophisticated robotic tool affords improved navigation and precision in locating pulmonary nodules. Future directions of study will focus on implementation of this exciting new technology for early diagnosis and therapy of lung nodules.

Our past publications include lung cancer screening in our high-risk patient population, multiple diagnostic yield of peripheral bronchoscopy studies, and sampling the lung with a cold biopsy probe. In addition to further lung cancer research, we will be focusing on improving safety and timeliness of therapeutic ICU procedures and studying physiology in pleural disease.

Finally, we are members of the Interventional Pulmonary Outcomes Group (IPOG), and will be at the forefront of pioneering new innovation in the field.

The Interventional Pulmonary group, in conjunction with the IPOG, is currently in the process of implementing several multicenter studies evaluating the following:

Pleural pressure in pneumothorax to better understand the physiology of tension pneumothorax
Investigating the utility and safety of an ultrasound guided gastrostomy tube placement
Evaluating use of serum blood markers in risk stratification of pulmonary nodules
Evaluating performance of a robotic-assisted bronchoscopy platform (Ion; Intuitive)

Our group also collaborates with basic science labs for collection of lung pathology, mediastinal and hilar lymph nodes, and pleural fluid used for analysis.

Selected Key Publications

Pasquinelli MM, Kovitz KL, Koshy M, et al. Outcomes From a Minority-Based Lung Cancer Screening Program vs the National Lung Screening Trial. JAMA Oncol. 2018;4(9):1291–1293. doi:10.1001/jamaoncol.2018.2823

Haas K, Brillante C, Sharp L, Elzokaky A, Paquinelli M, Feldman L, Kovitz K, Joo M. Lung cancer screening: assessment of health literacy and readability of online educational resources. BMC Public Health. 2018; 18: 1356. PMID: 30526544 DOI: 10.1186/s12889-018-6278-8

Herth FJ, Mayer M, Thiboutot J, Kapp CM, Sun J, Zhang X, Herth J, Kontogianni K, Yarmus L. Safety and Performance of Transbronchial Cryobiopsy for Parenchymal Lung Lesions. Chest. 2021 Oct;160(4):1512-1519. doi: 10.1016/j.chest.2021.04.063. Epub 2021 May 7. PMID: 33971147.

Haas K, Chen A. Indwelling tunneled catheters for the management of hepatic hydrothorax. Curr Opin Pulm Med. 2017; 23: 351-356. PMID: 28426468 DOI: 10.1097/MCP.0000000000000386

Kapp CM, Akulian JA, Yu DH, Chen A, Cárdenas-García J, Molena D, Vachani A, Wahidi MM, Maldonado F, Fielding D, Yarmus LB, Lee H. Cognitive Load in Electromagnetic Navigational and Robotic Bronchoscopy for Pulmonary Nodules. ATS Sch. 2020 Dec 23;2(1):97-107. doi: 10.34197/ats-scholar.2020-0033OC. PMID: 33870326; PMCID: PMC8043265.

Kapp CM, Latifi A, Feller-Kopman D, Atkins JH, Ben Or E, Dibardino D, Haas AR, Thiboutot J, Hutchinson CT. Sedation and Analgesia in Patients Undergoing Tracheostomy in COVID-19, a Multi-Center Registry. J Intensive Care Med. 2022 Feb;37(2):240-247. doi: 10.1177/08850666211045896. Epub 2021 Oct 12. PMID: 34636705.

Shojae S, Rahman N, Phil D, Haas K, et al. Indwelling tunneled pleural catheters for refractory hepatic hydrothorax in patients with cirrhosis: a multicenter study. CHEST. 2019; 155: 546-553. PMID: 30171863 DOI: 10.1016/j.chest.2018.08.1034

Ost DE, Ernst A, Lei X, Kovitz KL, Benzaquen S, Diaz-Mendoza J, Greenhill S, Toth J, Feller-Kopman D, Puchalski J, Baram D, Karunakara R, Jimenez CA, Filner JJ, Morice RC, Eapen GA, Michaud GC, Estrada-Y-Martin RM, Rafeq S, Grosu HB, Ray C, Gilbert CR, Yarmus LB, Simoff M; AQuIRE Bronchoscopy Registry. Diagnostic Yield and Complications of Bronchoscopy for Peripheral Lung Lesions. Results of the AQuIRE Registry. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2016 Jan 1;193(1):68-77. doi: 10.1164/rccm.201507-1332OC. PMID: 26367186; PMCID: PMC4731617.

Sciurba FC, Ernst A, Herth FJ, Strange C, Criner GJ, Marquette CH, Kovitz KL, Chiacchierini RP, Goldin J, McLennan G; VENT Study Research Group. A randomized study of endobronchial valves for advanced emphysema. N Engl J Med. 2010 Sep 23;363(13):1233-44. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa0900928. PMID: 20860505.

Kapp CM, Zaeh S, Niedermeyer S, Punjabi NM, Siddharthan T, Damarla M. The Use of Analgesia and Sedation in Mechanically Ventilated Patients With COVID-19 Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome. Anesth Analg. 2020 Oct;131(4):e198-e200. doi: 10.1213/ANE.0000000000005131. PMID: 32675640; PMCID: PMC7373364.

INSTRUCTIONS: In order to add a sidebar anchor:

Duplicate the existing item, listed as a 1/6 text field. (Or create a 1/6 column and add a text field, modify the class so it’s exactly “additionalAnchor”).
Modify the text field inside the 1/6 column. Inside there, modify the HYPERLINK so that it would go to a corresponding section with a “#” in front of it. (Example, we have a “chief” section on the page, then it would make sense to have the hyperlink go to “#chief”)
Then change the hyperlink TEXT to a appropriate label.
IMPORTANT: If not done already, go into that CONTAINER that corresponds to your anchor (i.e. Meet The Chiefs), and add an ID matching the anchor’s HYPERLINK WITHOUT the “#”, i.e. “chief”.
(If using side bar widget box, then there’s a saved copy of a widget box COLUMN, grab it in the column library, it should 1/6 of a length of a column.)

NOTE: Order added to the sidebar is from last to first.