Mock Code Program Goes Beyond CPR to Test Brigham’s Emergency Response Systems

The Brigham and Women’s Hospital mock code program plans and conducts high-fidelity in situ simulations that not only allow participants to practice critical resuscitations but also test hospital systems for emergency response. Paul Jansson, MD, MS, and Andrew Eyre, MD, MS, elaborate on what distinguishes the program.

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GLP-1RA Use Linked to Reduced COPD Exacerbation Rates Compared With Other Diabetes Therapies

Brigham and Women’s Hospital researchers report that patients with type 2 diabetes and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who initiate GLP-1RA have a decreased risk of both moderate and severe COPD exacerbations compared to users of sulfonylureas or dipeptidyl peptidase 4 inhibitors.

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Extracorporeal Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Protocol on Preventing Sudden Cardiac Arrest Deaths

Conventional CPR, which combines rescue breathing with chest compressions, has been the primary treatment for cardiac arrest for nearly 60 years. Survival, however, remains frustratingly low. Brigham and Women’s Hospital is part of a collaborative effort to explore a promising new alternative: extracorporeal…

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Replacement of cTnI With hs-cTnI for Evaluation of Pulmonary Embolism May Misclassify Risk

Behnood Bikdeli, MD, MS, at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, David Jiménez, MD, PhD, at Hospital Ramón y Cajal in Madrid, and colleagues recently conducted the first study to compare the prognostic relevance of cTnI with hs-cTnI in patients with pulmonary embolism (PE).

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Lipidomics Team Receives Ammodo Science Award for Tuberculosis Research

A multi-institutional research group co-led by D. Branch Moody, MD, of Brigham and Women’s Hospital, received an Ammodo Science Award for their groundbreaking research on lipid molecules. Their goal is to develop effective diagnostic tests and vaccines against tuberculosis and other infectious diseases.

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Liposomal Bupivacaine Is Good Alternative to Thoracic Epidural Analgesia for Patients Undergoing Minimally Invasive Lung Resection

Namrata Patil, MD, MPH, Anupama Singh, MD, and team compared thoracic epidural analgesia with injection of liposomal bupivacaine (LB) under direct witness in patients undergoing minimally invasive lung resection. LB intercostal block reduced opioid use 48 hours postoperatively and had fewer postoperative complications.

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Patients With EGFR-Mutant NSCLC May Benefit from Targeted Therapy More Than Checkpoint Inhibitors

An estimated 10 to 15% of non-small cell lung cancers harbor EGFR mutations.

A recent retrospective, multicenter cohort study suggests osimertinib is more likely to benefit non-small cell lung cancer patients with EGFR mutations than alternative approaches, though prospective clinical trials are needed to confirm the findings. The Brigham’s Elio Adib, MD, a co-author of the study, discusses key takeaways.

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Take-Home Surgical Simulation Model Allows Senior Trainees to Practice Airway Anastomosis

Researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the University of Toronto have developed and validated a portable model that helps trainees perfect complex vascular surgery and airway anastomosis techniques. The model is inexpensive and is the first to simulate tracheal anastomosis.

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Case Study: Endobronchial Valve Placement in a Patient With an Incomplete Lobar Fissure

CT scan of lungs before and after endobronchial valve placement

A team at the Brigham’s Lung Center performed a complex, two-step procedure to place endobronchial valves in a 59-year-old woman who had hyperinflation of her lungs due to advanced COPD, combined with an incomplete lobar fissure. Interventional pulmonologist Majid Shafiq, MD, MPH, discusses this challenging case.

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Structured Analysis of Pleural Epithelial Cells Gives Insight Into Distribution of Mechanical Stresses in the Lung

Human lung tissue under microscope view for education histology. Human tissue.

Brigham and Women’s Hospital researchers developed a method for studying the topography of pleural epithelial structure, enabled by en face harvest and machine learning. They used its geometry to map regional differences in mechanical stress, providing key insight into normal lung function and parenchymal lung disease.

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