Paul E. Marik

Marik was born in Johannesburg, South Africa.{{cite web |last1=Turner |first1=Kelly Jane |title=Doctor who discovered Ivermectin use for Covid-19 was born in SA, studied at Wits |url=https://www.iol.co.za/news/south-africa/gauteng/doctor-who-discovered-ivermectin-use-for-covid-19-was-born-in-sa-studied-at-wits-bab210ff-1c2d-491a-9970-e3c0d98aa71c |website=Independent Online |language=en |date=January 28, 2021}} He earned a Master of Medicine in the Specialty of Internal Medicine in 1987 at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg.{{cite web |title=Biography – Dr. Paul E.Marik |url=https://benthamscience.com/journals/current-respiratory-medicine-reviews/editorial-board/biography/crmr_ae_marik_001/ |website=benthamscience.com}}{{cite web |first=Rochelle |last=Keene |title=Our Graduates, 1924–2012 |url=https://www.wits.ac.za/media/wits-university/alumni/documents/other-documents/Our%20Graduates_1924_2012.pdf|access-date=March 27, 2022|publisher=Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand |year=2013}}

Marik was an ICU attending at Baragwanath Hospital, in Soweto, South Africa.

Marik did a critical care fellowship in London, Ontario, Canada, and subsequently has worked in the United States in teaching hospitals since 1992.{{Cite web|title=Profiles – Eastern Virginia Medical School (EVMS), Norfolk, Hampton Roads|url=https://www.evms.edu/directory/profiles/paul-e-marik.php|access-date=2021-09-24|website=evms.edu}}

In 2001, Marik was author of the Handbook of Evidence Based Critical Care.{{cite journal |title=Handbook of Evidence-Based Critical Care |journal=Respiratory Care |url=http://rc.rcjournal.com/content/respcare/48/6/625.full.pdf |date=June 2003 |volume=48 |issue=6}} Reviewing its second edition for the journal Anaesthesia and Intensive Care, K. M. Ho wrote in 2011 that the book was "useful for junior doctors or intensive care trainees" but had "some limitations" such as "obvious drug dosage error" and "omissions of hypotensive effects".{{cite journal |last1=Ho |first1=K. M. |title=Book Review: Handbook of Evidence-Based Critical Care. Second edition |journal=Anaesthesia and Intensive Care |date=March 2011 |volume=39 |issue=2 |pages=320 |doi=10.1177/0310057X1103900230|s2cid=86622425 |doi-access=free }} Another review, by Peter J. Papadakos in 2003 for the journal Respiratory Care, called it "an excellent introduction to the concept of evidence-based medicine".{{cite journal |last1=Papadakos |first1=Peter J. |title=Book Review: Handbook of Evidence-Based Critical Care. Paul Ellis Marik MD MBBCh. New York: Springer-Verlag. 2001. Soft cover, illustrated, 535 pages. |url=http://rc.rcjournal.com/content/48/6/625 |journal=Respiratory Care |access-date=October 6, 2021 |pages=625–626 |language=en |date=June 1, 2003|volume=48 |issue=6 }}

From 2002 to 2006, Marik was part of the Editorial Board of Chest journal.{{cite journal |title=New CHEST Editorial Board Members |url=https://journal.chestnet.org/article/S0012-3692(16)46273-2/pdf |journal=Chest |volume=122 |issue=1 |date=July 2002 |page=13 |doi=10.1378/chest.122.1.13 |format=pdf|doi-access=free }}

In 2005, Marik was named Director at the Division Pulmonary and Critical Care at Jefferson Medical College (JMC) and Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia.

In 2009, Marik became a professor and Chief of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at Eastern Virginia Medical School.{{cite news |title=Skilled teacher wins national recognition |url=https://www.evms.edu/about_evms/administrative_offices/marketing_communications/publications/issue_9_3/skilled-teacher-wins-national-recognition.php |access-date=June 9, 2022 |work=EVMS Magazine |issue=3 |publisher=Eastern Virginia Medical School |date=2016–2017|volume=9 }}

In 2011, an international committee assembled by the main thoracic and respiratory national societies published guidelines for the diagnosis and management of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. The guidelines' section on the treatment of complications relied in part on the results of Marik's 2001 research on the association of gastric reflux and aspiration.{{cite journal |last1=Raghu |first1=Ganesh |last2=Collard |first2=Harold R. |last3=Egan |first3=Jim J. |last4=Martinez |first4=Fernando J. |last5=Behr |first5=Juergen |last6=Brown |first6=Kevin K. |last7=Colby |first7=Thomas V. |last8=Cordier |first8=Jean-François |last9=Flaherty |first9=Kevin R. |last10=Lasky |first10=Joseph A. |last11=Lynch |first11=David A. |last12=Ryu |first12=Jay H. |last13=Swigris |first13=Jeffrey J. |last14=Wells |first14=Athol U. |last15=Ancochea |first15=Julio |last16=Bouros |first16=Demosthenes |last17=Carvalho |first17=Carlos |last18=Costabel |first18=Ulrich |last19=Ebina |first19=Masahito |last20=Hansell |first20=David M. |last21=Johkoh |first21=Takeshi |last22=Kim |first22=Dong Soon |last23=King |first23=Talmadge E. |last24=Kondoh |first24=Yasuhiro |last25=Myers |first25=Jeffrey |last26=Müller |first26=Nestor L. |last27=Nicholson |first27=Andrew G. |last28=Richeldi |first28=Luca |last29=Selman |first29=Moisés |last30=Dudden |first30=Rosalind F. |last31=Griss |first31=Barbara S. |last32=Protzko |first32=Shandra L. |last33=Schünemann |first33=Holger J. |title=An Official ATS/ERS/JRS/ALAT Statement: Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis: Evidence-based Guidelines for Diagnosis and Management |journal=American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine |date=March 15, 2011 |volume=183 |issue=6 |pages=788–824 |doi=10.1164/rccm.2009-040GL|pmid=21471066 |pmc=5450933 }}{{Non-primary source needed|date=September 2021}}

In 2012, an international committee updated guidelines for the management of severe sepsis and septic shock. In its section of supportive therapy recommendations, the committee based its concept on blood product administrations partly on research performed by Marik and W. Sibbald in 1993.{{cite journal |last1=Dellinger |first1=R. P. |last2=Levy |first2=Mitchell M. |last3=Rhodes |first3=Andrew |last4=Annane |first4=Djillali |last5=Gerlach |first5=Herwig |last6=Opal |first6=Steven M. |last7=Sevransky |first7=Jonathan E. |last8=Sprung |first8=Charles L. |last9=Douglas |first9=Ivor S. |last10=Jaeschke |first10=Roman |last11=Osborn |first11=Tiffany M. |last12=Nunnally |first12=Mark E. |last13=Townsend |first13=Sean R. |last14=Reinhart |first14=Konrad |last15=Kleinpell |first15=Ruth M. |last16=Angus |first16=Derek C. |last17=Deutschman |first17=Clifford S. |last18=Machado |first18=Flavia R. |last19=Rubenfeld |first19=Gordon D. |last20=Webb |first20=Steven |last21=Beale |first21=Richard J. |last22=Vincent |first22=Jean-Louis |last23=Moreno |first23=Rui |title=Surviving Sepsis Campaign: International Guidelines for Management of Severe Sepsis and Septic Shock, 2012 |journal=Intensive Care Medicine |date=February 2013 |volume=39 |issue=2 |pages=165–228 |doi=10.1007/s00134-012-2769-8|pmid=23361625 |pmc=7095153 }}{{Non-primary source needed|date=September 2021}}

In 2017, Marik won the American College of Physicians award for outstanding educator of residents and fellows.{{cite web |title=Awards |url=https://www.acponline.org/system/files/documents/about_acp/awards_masterships/awards.pdf |website=ACP |access-date=March 27, 2022 |archive-date=January 30, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190130221306/https://www.acponline.org/system/files/documents/about_acp/awards_masterships/awards.pdf |url-status=dead }}{{Non-primary source needed|date=October 2021}} He has written over 450 peer-reviewed journal articles.{{cite web |title=Paul Ellis Marik – Editorial Board – Pharmacology & Therapeutics – Journal – Elsevier |url=https://www.journals.elsevier.com/pharmacology-and-therapeutics/editorial-board/paul-ellis-marik |website=journals.elsevier.com |publisher=Elsevier |access-date=August 13, 2021 |language=en}}

In March 2021, Marik was reprimanded by the Virginia Board of Medicine and ordered to complete additional education in prescribing practices after it was found he had prescribed drugs, including phenobarbital, oxycodone, tramadol, alprazolam, and diazepam, to people who were not his patients.{{cite web |publisher=WAVY-TV |title=EVMS professor reprimanded by Virginia Board of Medicine |author=Adrienne Mayfield |date=May 19, 2021 |url=https://www.wavy.com/news/investigative/evms-professor-reprimanded-by-virginia-board-of-medicine/}}{{cite web |url=http://www.dhp.virginia.gov/Notices/Medicine/0109542065/0109542065Order03172021.pdf |publisher=Virginia Board of Medicine |date=March 16, 2021 |title=Case Number 203034}} In November 2021, he sued his employer, Sentara Health, over its ban on prescribing ivermectin for COVID-19. His clinical privileges at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital were suspended shortly afterward.{{Cite web|date=November 23, 2021|title=Doctor gets letter of suspension just after suing Sentara Healthcare for chance to use ivermectin on COVID-19 patients|url=https://www.13newsnow.com/article/news/health/doctor-suing-sentara-to-use-ivermectin-gets-letter-suspension/291-14ba50c4-506f-4177-adb4-4c95535e3104|access-date=2022-01-09|website=13newsnow.com }}{{cite news |first=Brendan |last=Ponton |url=https://www.wtkr.com/news/attorney-sentara-quiet-over-dr-mariks-hospital-suspension |title=Attorney, Sentara quiet over Dr. Marik's hospital suspension |publisher=WTKR |date=November 23, 2021 |access-date=March 27, 2022 }} He resigned from Eastern Virginia Medical School effective December 31, 2021.{{cite news |url=https://www.wtkr.com/news/coronavirus/dr-marik-resigns-from-position-at-evms-in-midst-of-legal-battle-with-sentara-over-use-of-ivermectin |title=Dr. Marik resigns from position at EVMS in midst of legal battle with Sentara over use of ivermectin |publisher=WTKR |date=January 5, 2022 |access-date=March 27, 2022 }}{{Cite web|last=Fiore|first=Kristina|date=January 5, 2022|title=Controversial Doc Resigns From Medical School|url=https://www.medpagetoday.com/special-reports/exclusives/96522|access-date=2022-01-09|website=medpagetoday.com}}{{Cite web|date=January 6, 2022|title=Norfolk doctor seeking to use ivermectin to treat COVID-19 resigns from EVMS|url=https://www.13newsnow.com/article/news/health/norfolk-doctor-ivermectin-resigns-from-evms/291-d62b004d-418d-4d56-a0b9-070fb80bf0c6|access-date=2022-01-09|publisher=WVEC}}{{cite news |work=Newsweek |date=January 6, 2022 |title=Doctor in Middle of Battle to Prescribe Ivermectin for COVID Patients Resigns as Professor |first=Jon |last=Jackson}}

Marik is inventor of the "Marik protocol", also known as the "HAT" protocol, which proposes intravenous administration of hydrocortisone, ascorbic acid (vitamin C), and thiamine (vitamin B₁) as a treatment for preventing sepsis for people in intensive care. Marik's own initial research, published with four other authors in Chest in 2017, showed a dramatic evidence of benefit. The single-center, observational study compared outcomes of 47 consecutive sepsis patients who were treated with HAT during a 7-month period to 47 consecutive control patients during the preceding 7-month period. The study reported 19 deaths in the control group and 4 deaths in the treatment group.{{cite journal|last1=Marik|first1=Paul E.|last2=Khangoora|first2=Vikramjit|last3=Rivera|first3=Racquel|last4=Hooper|first4=Michael H.|last5=Catravas|first5=John|year=2017|title=Hydrocortisone, Vitamin C, and Thiamine for the Treatment of Severe Sepsis and Septic Shock|journal=Chest|publisher=Elsevier BV|volume=151|issue=6|pages=1229–1238|doi=10.1016/j.Chest.2016.11.036|issn=0012-3692|pmid=27940189|s2cid=3509326}}

Marik's findings received attention on social media and National Public Radio, but drew criticism from the wider medical community for being science by press conference.{{cite web|date=April 7, 2017|title=The Marik Protocol: Have We Found a "Cure" for Severe Sepsis and Septic Shock? – Emergency Medicine Blog|url=https://rebelem.com/the-marik-protocol-have-we-found-a-cure-for-severe-sepsis-and-septic-shock/|access-date=2021-07-22|website=REBEL EM – Emergency Medicine Blog}}{{Cite web|date=July 9, 2019|title=Vitamin C Drug Cocktail for Sepsis|url=https://healthmanagement.org/c/icu/news/vitamin-c-drug-cocktail-for-sepsis|access-date=2021-09-24|website=HealthManagement|language=en}} ER doctor Jeremy Faust was one of a number of skeptics of the results, noting the low reliability of the study design and potential for bias.{{cite journal |vauthors=Rubin R |title=Wide Interest in a Vitamin C Drug Cocktail for Sepsis Despite Lagging Evidence |journal=JAMA |volume=322 |issue=4 |pages=291–293 |date=July 2019 |pmid=31268477 |doi=10.1001/jama.2019.7936 |s2cid=195788169 }} The controversy prompted other groups to conduct studies of the HAT protocol. A systematic review of six randomized and five non-randomized controlled trials in 2021 found that the claimed benefits of the protocol could not be confirmed.{{cite journal |vauthors=Lee YR, Vo K, Varughese JT |title=Benefits of combination therapy of hydrocortisone, ascorbic acid and thiamine in sepsis and septic shock: A systematic review |journal=Nutr Health |pages=77–93 |date=May 2021 |volume=28 |issue=1 |pmid=34039089 |doi=10.1177/02601060211018371 |s2cid=235215735 }}

In August 2023, Marik was informed by the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) that his board certification was to be revoked for "spreading false or inaccurate medical information".{{cite web |publisher=FLCCC Alliance |title=FLCCC Doctors Plan to Fight Board Decision |date=8 August 2023 |url=https://flccc.substack.com/p/flccc-doctors-plan-to-fight-board}} ABIM revoked his board certification in August 2024.{{cite web | last=Weber | first=Lauren | last2=Beard | first2=McKenzie | title=Doctors accused of spreading misinformation lose certifications | website=Washington Post | date=13 August 2024 | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/08/13/doctors-accused-spreading-misinformation-lose-certifications/ | access-date=13 August 2024}}

Marik is a co-founder of the Front Line COVID-19 Critical Care Alliance (FLCCC), a group of physicians and former journalists formed in April 2020 that advocates for ineffective COVID-19 treatments, including hydroxychloroquine, the anti-parasitic drug ivermectin, and intravenous vitamin C.{{Cite web|last=Fiore|first=Kristina|date=January 6, 2021|title=What's Behind the Ivermectin-for-COVID Buzz?|url=https://www.medpagetoday.com/infectiousdisease/covid19/90552|access-date=2021-09-24|website=medpagetoday.com }}{{cite web|author=Hilary Brueck|date=September 17, 2021|title=2 fringe doctors created the myth that ivermectin is a 'miracle cure' for COVID-19 — whipping up false hope that could have deadly consequences|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/why-ivermectin-being-used-treat-covid-2-doctors-leading-charge-2021-9?r=US&IR=T|work=Business Insider}}{{cite journal |last1=Rawat |first1=D |last2=Roy |first2=A |last3=Maitra |first3=S |last4=Gulati |first4=A |last5=Khanna |first5=P |last6=Baidya |first6=DK |title=Vitamin C and COVID-19 treatment: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. |journal=Diabetes & Metabolic Syndrome |date=November 2021 |volume=15 |issue=6 |pages=102324 |doi=10.1016/j.dsx.2021.102324 |pmid=34739908|pmc=8552785 }}{{cite news |last1=Hesman Saey |first1=Tina |title=Hydroxychloroquine can't stop COVID-19. It's time to move on, scientists say |url=https://www.sciencenews.org/article/covid-19-coronavirus-hydroxychloroquine-no-evidence-treatment |access-date=March 27, 2022 |work=Science News |agency=ScienceNews |date=August 2, 2020}}

Marik was lead author of a journal article on the efficacy of ivermectin as a COVID-19 treatment, which had been provisionally accepted for publication by a Frontiers Media journal in early 2021, but which was subsequently rejected on account of what the publisher said were "a series of strong, unsupported claims based on studies with insufficient statistical significance" meaning that the article did "not offer an objective [or] balanced scientific contribution to the evaluation of ivermectin as a potential treatment for COVID-19".{{cite journal |journal=The Scientist |url=https://www.the-scientist.com/news-opinion/frontiers-removes-controversial-ivermectin-paper-pre-publication-68505 |title=Frontiers Removes Controversial Ivermectin Paper Pre-Publication |date=March 2, 2021 |vauthors=Offord C}}

In November 2021, the Journal of Intensive Care Medicine retracted a paper written by Marik and others associated with the FLCCC, including Pierre Kory. The paper promoted a combination of vitamins and drugs as treatment for patients hospitalized for COVID-19. The combination was called MATH+ by the FLCCC and included methylprednisolone, ascorbic acid, thiamine, heparin, and other ingredients. The retraction was triggered when it was found the paper misreported the mortality figures of hospitalized patients treated with MATH+, falsely making it appear to be an effective treatment.{{cite web |publisher=Retraction Watch |title=Bad MATH+? Covid treatment paper by Pierre Kory retracted for flawed results |date=November 10, 2021 |url=https://retractionwatch.com/2021/11/09/bad-math-covid-treatment-paper-by-pierre-kory-retracted-for-flawed-results |vauthors=Marcus A}}{{cite journal |title=Retraction Notice |journal=Journal of Intensive Care Medicine |date=November 9, 2021 |doi=10.1177/08850666211049062|pmid=34749558 |s2cid=243863375 |doi-access=free }}{{cite web |title=The FLCCC Physicians |url=https://covid19criticalcare.com/about/the-flccc-physicians/ |website=FLCCC |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201101012844/https://covid19criticalcare.com/about/the-flccc-physicians/ |access-date=November 12, 2021|archive-date=2020-11-01 }}

By April 2022, Marik had become associated with a right-wing political group called Defeat the Mandates. Appearing at a rally in Maryland, Marik began promoting further COVID-19 misinformation, saying without evidence that vaccines, masks and social distancing "didn't work" and that information about "early treatment" had been suppressed – "They don't want you to know this because they want you to be scared".{{cite web |publisher=MedPage Today |title=Misinformation Docs See Their Political Stars Rise |vauthors=Fiore K |url=https://www.medpagetoday.com/special-reports/exclusives/98810 |date=May 19, 2022}}

In March 2024, Marik and Pierre Kory published an op-ed in The Hill claiming that long COVID was caused by COVID-19 vaccination instead of COVID-19 infection. The op-ed was republished by the German disinformation outlet Disclose.tv. The fact-checking website Health Feedback found that the op-ed relied on anecdotes that did not provide evidence to support the claim.{{Cite web |date=March 15, 2024 |first=Iria |last=Carballo-Carbajal |title=No evidence that persistent symptoms are more frequent after COVID-19 vaccination than after infection, contrary to an op-ed in The Hill |url=https://science.feedback.org/review/no-evidence-persistent-symptoms-more-frequent-after-covid19-vaccination-than-after-infection-contrary-op-ed-the-hill-pierre-kory/ |access-date=September 16, 2024|website=Science Feedback |publisher=Health Feedback |language=en-US}} Later in 2024, Marik, Kory, and others revived a lawsuit against the FDA when it criticized through its social media, the use of ivermectin for COVID-19 (note above, that ivermectin has shown to be not effective for COVID-19). While the FDA settled this lawsuit, it also stated that its position was unchanged, that ivermectin was ineffective for COVID-19.{{Cite web |last=Bales |first=Karam |date=2024-06-20 |title=Ivermectin Doctors Take to the Courts |url=https://whowhatwhy.org/science/health-medicine/ivermectin-doctors-take-to-the-courts/ |access-date=2024-12-10 |website=WhoWhatWhy |language=en-US}} Those same physicians then were characterized by journalist Karam Bales as: "The doctors in the FDA lawsuit didn’t “win” much of substance or pragmatic value with this settlement. What they did do was to show that with enough money and legal persistence they can get a federal agency to delete messaging they don’t like, setting a worrisome precedent".{{Cite web |last=Bales |first=Karam |date=2024-06-20 |title=Ivermectin Doctors Take to the Courts |url=https://whowhatwhy.org/science/health-medicine/ivermectin-doctors-take-to-the-courts/ |access-date=2024-12-10 |website=WhoWhatWhy |language=en-US}}

Marik, Paul E. (2012). "Pneumonia, Aspiration". In Vincent, Jean Louis., and Hall, Jesse B. eds. (2012). [https://link.springer.com/referencework/10.1007/978-3-642-00418-6 Encyclopedia of Intensive Care Medicine]. Springer Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-00418-6

{{Reflist}}

{{Pseudo-medicine}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marik, Paul E.}}

Category:1958 births

Category:Living people

Category:American physicians

Category:Intensivists

Category:Eastern Virginia Medical School faculty

Category:American pulmonologists

Category:University of the Witwatersrand alumni