Michael Brown

Chair, Department of Emergency Medicine Michigan State University

  • East Lansing MI

Has expertise teaching evidence-based medicine concepts and engaged in knowledge translation at the national level.

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Ask the Expert: Understand the latest on COVID-19 and mpox

As the university physician at Michigan State, Michael Brown advises the president and other leaders on major health policy or programs that impact life on campus or education abroad programs. He is also chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine in the MSU College of Human Medicine. Here, Brown shares the latest guidance about two viruses that are making news — COVID-19 and mpox, which was formerly called monkeypox. Is COVID-19 changing? COVID-19 will be with us for years to come. It seems to come and go in waves and now, it’s surging again across the United States. We’re seeing more cases, but the number of severe cases is much lower than the peaks we saw during the height of the pandemic. This is good news. Just a small fraction of the people who get COVID-19 actually become sick enough to go to the emergency department. We have to keep that in perspective. How can people stay healthy? The virus does mutate — that’s what viruses do — and a couple recent variants have become predominant. Ideally, the next vaccine will target the latest prevalent variants. I expect the Food and Drug Administration to release a new vaccine very soon, and I definitely will be in line to get one when it’s available. In fact, I highly encourage everyone to get a vaccine this fall. The effectiveness peaks about four weeks after you receive it and lasts at least four to six months — maybe longer. The people who are most protected are those who have had a bout of COVID-19, built up their immunity and received a vaccine. This combination is the best protection from getting an illness that’s severe enough to send you to the hospital. What symptoms are associated with this strain of COVID-19? The symptoms are much like what we’ve seen from COVID-19 in the past. It is an upper respiratory illness, so you may have a sore throat, congestion and a cough, but there can be other symptoms like headache. Some people experience nausea, vomiting or diarrhea. Fever and muscle aches are also common. What if someone tests positive for COVID-19? False positives are very rare with COVID-19 tests so if you get a positive result, you should take care of yourself and protect those around you. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend that you stay home and wear a mask around others. You should also treat your symptoms, stay hydrated and take acetaminophen for fever and muscle aches. After 24 hours of feeling better and being fever-free (with no acetaminophen), you can go out in public. It’s advised that you wear a mask for an additional five days to protect people who are vulnerable. And what about mpox? Mpox is a viral disease largely found in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Central Africa. The people there are accustomed to living with it. But it mutates, and we have seen a change in the disease patterns in the past few years. One of the new variants is more severe and is now spreading in the Congo region. It has become a critical situation there, but we have not seen the more severe variant here in the United States. Mpox is not as transmissible as COVID-19 because it requires close contact — usually intimate contact or other close physical proximity like sharing a towel. Symptoms include a rash that may start on the face or genital area along with fever and body aches. A vaccine is available, and an experimental drug can be prescribed as treatment. The World Health Organization has asked developed countries like the United States to assist with research to better understand the new variant. Looking to know more we can help. Michael Brown is available to speak with media simply connect with Dalin Clark now to arrange an interview today.

Michael Brown

Media

Biography

Michael Brown, MD, MSc, is chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine. After graduating from the College of Human Medicine in 1986, Dr. Brown completed his EM residency training at Butterworth Hospital where he subsequently joined the faculty. During this period, he developed a passion for summarizing research evidence in a form useful to clinicians, an interest that led to a Master of Science degree in Epidemiology with a focus on evidence synthesis (i.e., meta-analysis).

Dr. Brown has shared his expertise teaching evidence-based medicine concepts to medical students and engaged in knowledge translation at the national level by serving in many roles:

• Lead editor for the Annals of Emergency Medicine Systematic Review Snapshot series
• Past Chair for the American College of Emergency Physicians Clinical Policies Committee
• Leadership role on the American Board of Emergency Medicine New Advances Panel

Dr. Brown currently serves as the University Physician, on the Editorial Board for Cochrane, and as the Editor for Cochrane Evidence Synthesis and Methods.

Areas of Expertise

Emergency Medicine
Evidence Synthesis and Evaluation
Knowledge Translation
Epidemiology
Meta-Analysis

Education

Michigan State University

M.D.

College of Human Medicine

1986

n/a

M.S.

Epidemiology

Affiliations

  • Annals of Emergency Medicine Systematic Review Snapshot Series : Lead Editor
  • American College of Emergency Physicians Clinical Policies Committee : Past Chair
  • American Board of Emergency Medicine New Advances Panel : Leadership Role

News

Ask the expert: Understand the latest on COVID-19 and mpox

MSU Today  online

2024-08-22

As the university physician at Michigan State, Michael Brown advises the president and other leaders on major health policy or programs that impact life on campus or education abroad programs. He is also chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine in the MSU College of Human Medicine. Here, Brown shares the latest guidance about two viruses that are making news — COVID-19 and mpox, which was formerly called monkeypox.

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Metro Detroit medical providers, patients prepare for updated COVID vaccine

WXYZ Channel 7  online

2024-08-22

Dr. Michael Brown is the university physician at Michigan State University. He highly recommends the updated vaccines for those most vulnerable and also recommends it for younger students returning to MSU's campus.

“The number of emergency department visits due to COVID have bumped up slightly, but it pales in comparison to what we saw the first couple years of the pandemic,” said Brown. "I will be recommending that people go out and get a vaccine, but it’s not mandatory or required like it was during the peak of the pandemic.”

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Hospitals are seeing an increase in COVID-19 cases: How does it affect Michigan?

The State News  online

2023-12-06

When discussing the increase in COVID cases and hospitalizations, Michael Brown, an MSU physician, professor and chair of emergency medicine, said the increase now "is due to one of the lowest lows we had over the summer.”

Brown said he has not seen a pattern with COVID-19 as he has seen with other respiratory infections, so he doesn’t get too surprised when there are highs and lows at certain times.

“COVID hasn't had that pattern," Brown said. "We could see a new peak in the spring or summer."

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Journal Articles

Prioritising Cochrane reviews to be updated with health equity focus

International Journal for Equity in Health

2023

Background The prioritisation of updating published systematic reviews of interventions is vital to prevent research waste and ensure relevance to stakeholders. The consideration of health equity in reviews is also important to ensure interventions will not exacerbate the existing inequities of the disadvantaged if universally implemented. This study aimed to pilot a priority setting exercise based on systematic reviews of interventions published in the Cochrane Library, to identify and prioritise reviews to be updated with a focus on health equity. Methods We conducted a priority setting exercise with a group of 13 international stakeholders.

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ACR Appropriateness Criteria® Cerebrovascular Diseases-Aneurysm, Vascular Malformation, and Subarachnoid Hemorrhage

Journal of the American College of Radiology

2021

Cerebrovascular disease is a broad topic. This document focuses on the imaging recommendations for the varied clinical scenarios involving intracranial aneurysms, vascular malformations, and vasculitis, which all carry high risk of morbidity and mortality. Additional imaging recommendations regarding complications of these conditions, including subarachnoid hemorrhage and vasospasm, are also covered. While each variant presentation has unique imaging recommendations, the major focus of this document is neurovascular imaging techniques. The American College of Radiology Appropriateness Criteria are evidence-based guidelines for specific clinical conditions that are reviewed annually by a multidisciplinary expert panel.

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ACR Appropriateness Criteria® Syncope

Journal of the American College of Radiology

2021

Syncope and presyncope lead to well over one million emergency room visits in the United States each year. Elucidating the cause of syncope or presyncope, which are grouped together given similar etiologies and outcomes, can be exceedingly difficult given the diverse etiologies. This becomes more challenging as some causes, such as vasovagal syncope, are relatively innocuous while others, such as cardiac-related syncope, carry a significant increased risk of death. While the mainstay of syncope and presyncope assessment is a detailed history and physical examination, imaging can play a role in certain situations. In patients where a cardiovascular etiology is suspected based on the appropriate history, physical examination, and ECG findings, resting transthoracic echocardiography is usually considered appropriate for the initial imaging.

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