Emir Festic MD, MS

Emir Festic, M.D., M.S., has been studying acute respiratory failure for more than 15 years. He has helped develop, lead, and complete multicenter studies on the treatment and prevention of acute respiratory distress syndrome. The long-term goal of his research is to develop effective prevention strategies for acute respiratory failure.

As a principal investigator in a multicenter feasibility clinical trial, Dr. Festic confirmed that early-administered, inhaled corticosteroids and beta-agonists improve oxygenation in patients who are hospitalized for pneumonia and are at risk of progressing to fully established acute respiratory failure, acute respiratory distress syndrome, or both.

Dr. Festic has since been funded by the National Institutes of Health, along with Joseph Levitt, M.D., M.S., of Stanford University Medical Center. They are leading Arrest Respiratory Failure From Pneumonia (ARREST Pneumonia), a prospective multicenter trial on the use of inhaled budesonide and formoterol to prevent or ameliorate acute respiratory failure in patients hospitalized with severe pneumonia. The study is also enrolling patients with COVID-19, as preliminary data suggest that these patients are at particular risk of developing viral pneumonia and acute respiratory failure.