Department-Based Adverse Drug Event Screening
Strategy: A Demonstration Project” BC Health
Services Purchasing Organization & Vancouver
2011-13.
the Threat to Traffic Safety”. Granting Agency:
Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research
(Scholar award) Value: $655,00 over 8 years.
Kendall Ho “National First Nations e-Health benefits evaluation”, Health Canada
First Nations and Inuit Health Branch. Value: $400,000. 2011 - 2013.
Kawai Cheung “Hospital-Based Smoking Cessation Grant” Ministry of Health and
Vancouver Coastal Health Authority. Value: $82,000. 2011- 2012.
Rose N, Hohl C. “A Pilot Study Towards a Randomized Clinical Trial of Cast
Immobilization versus Functional Therapy for Acute, Severe Lateral Ankle Sprains”
Worksafe BC. Operating Grant, Value: $26,887.
Kendall Ho “eHealth summer camp”. TELUS. Total
funding: $150,000. 2011 - 2012.
education”, UBC Teaching and Learning Enhancement
Fund. Value: 135,000. 2011 - 2012.
Kendall Ho “Public Health Education between China and
Canada”, Health Canada International Health Grant
Program. Total funding: $99,642. 2011 - 2012.
Congratulations to our researchers
- 2012.
Riyad Abu-Laban “Development & Evaluation of A Novel 4 Week Research
Education Rotation for UBC Royal College Emergency Medicine Residents”
UBC Faculty Development Initiatives Grant. Value: $5000. 2011 - 13.
Corinne Hohl “Early Parenthood Experiences for Emergency Physicians: A
needs assessment for national guidelines” Royal Alexandra Hospital Operating
Grant. Total funding: $3,000. 2011-2012.
Kawai Cheung “Summer Student Research Program 2011”, UBC Faculty of
Medicine. Funding: $2800 for 2 months.
Corinne Hohl “The Effect of Ketamine on Intracranial Pressure, Cerebral
Perfusion Pressure, Hemodynamics and Mortality in Rapid Sequence
Intubation: A Systematic Review of the Literature”. Canadian Association of
Emergency Physicians. Value: $2,500. 2011.
Congratulations Continued
Research Activities
The VGH Emergency Medicine Research Division had another productive year
in 2011. Office manager, Jan Buchanan, somehow managed to find space in the
research office for over a dozen research assistants and student volunteers
working on numerous research projects.
Adverse Drug Reactions. Corinne Hohl (PI) is actively continuing her research
into the detection and early correction of emergency department patients who
present with adverse drug reactions. Corinne’s presentation of the clinical
decision rule her team developed to detect adverse drug events was awarded the
2011 Best Paper Award at the Scientific Assembly of the American College of
Emergency Physicians in San Francisco (Oct 2011). Dr. Hohl is also leading a
large demonstration project entitled “Implementation of an Emergency
Department-Based Adverse Drug Event Screening Strategy: A Demonstration
Project”. That project is funded by the BC Health Services Purchasing
Organization & Vancouver Coastal Health Authority and is valued at
$1,762,201.
Road Safety
The VGH Department of Emergency Medicine has a tradition of producing
high quality original research, and collaborating on the research initiatives of
other VGH Departments or external groups. This academic mission must be
balanced with the demands research places on Emergency Department patient
care and teaching of Residents and Medical Students. In addition, simultaneous
research projects may conflict with one another and may compete for the same
patients as well as for the time and attention of our clerical, nursing, and
medical staff. For these reasons, all potential studies which require signoff by
the VGH Department of Emergency Medicine undergo internal review,
approval, and prioritization.
It is expected that one or more members of the VGH Department of Emergency
Medicine will be involved academically (as co-applicant on grants, and co-
author on publications) on any significant peer-reviewed or investigator-
initiated collaborative project conducted in the VGH Emergency Department.
This involvement should commence during the development of the study
protocol and the ED should receive appropriate acknowledgement for the role it
plays for any such projects.
For further information on our research policy or to discuss a potential project
please contact our Research Director (Jeff Brubacher; Jbrubacher@shaw.ca) or
office manager (Jan Buchanan; Jan.Buchanan@vch.ca).
Road Safety. Jeff Brubacher (PI) and Co-Investigators Roy Purssell and Herb
Chan continue to work on their study “Cannabis and Motor Vehicle Crashes: A
multicentre culpability study”. The goal is to determine the role of marijuana
use in causing car crashes. The study is funded by the Canadian Institutes for
Health Research ($910,000 over 5 years) and has been launched in 5 trauma
centres across BC. Dr. Brubacher received an 8-year scholar award from the
Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research which will allow him to
continue this line of research. Brubacher and Purssell work closely with
numerous road safety stakeholders across the province and nationally. The road
safety team just submitted a grant application to the Canadian Institute of
Health Research proposing to evaluate British Columbia’s new immediate
Collaborative Research Policy
Research Activities Continued
Smoking Cessation. KaWai Cheung continues her smoking cessation research.
Last year, Dr Cheung received a mentored clinician scientist award for this
project. This year she received funding ($82,000) from the BC Ministry of
Health and from Vancouver Coastal Health to implement and evaluate a
smoking cessation project in the Vancouver General Hospital Emergency
Department. KaWai recruited a team of student volunteers and is enrolling
patients for a randomized-controlled trial of smoking cessation counseling
through Quit Now.
Sports Medicine. Dr. Nick Rose, among his long list of credentials, is
fellowship trained in Sports Medicine. Nick completed his study of ultrasound
guided hematoma block for distal radius fractures and is now planning a
randomized trial comparing cast immobilization with functional therapy for
severe ankle sprains. Nick received a grant from Worksafe BC ($26,887) for a
pilot study.
Medicine Research Director, spent countless hours developing the Novel
Education in Research & Design (NERD) program to teach emergency
medicine residents about research. This unique program was very well received
1. Abu-Laban RB, Evans C. An Award and A Legacy. Can J Emerg Med, 13
(3): 141, 2011
2. Sivilotti M, Abu-Laban RB. Inhaling Smoke Causes Smoke Inhalation: Put
That in Your Hookah Pipe! Can J Emerg Med, 2012 (in press)
3. Andolfatto G, Abu-Laban R, Zed P, Staniforth S, Stackhouse S, Moadebi
S, Willman E. Ketamine-Propofol Combination (Ketofol) versus Propofol
Alone for Emergency Department Procedural Sedation and Analgesia: A
Prospective Randomized Double-Blind Trial. Annals of Emerg Med, 2011
(in press).
4. McGregor, M. J., Baumbusch, J., Abu-Laban, R. B., McGrail, K. M.,
Andrusiek, D., Globerman, J. et al. A Survey of Nursing Home
Organizational Characteristics Associated with Potentially Avoidable
Research Activities Continued
Page 4
Advanced directives
Hospital Transfers and Care Quality in One Large British Columbia Health
Region. Canadian Journal on Aging/Revue Canadienne du vieillissement,
30, 551-561, 2011.
5. Brubacher JR: Cannabis and motor vehicle crashes. BC Medical Journal,
2011;53:292-93.
6. Brubacher, JR, Hunte, GS, Hamilton, L, Taylor, A. Barriers to and
Incentives for Safety Event Reporting in Emergency Departments.
Healthcare Quarterly, 2011;14:57-65.
7. Lange, R.T., Brubacher, J., Iverson, G.L. Clinical Utility of the Protein
S100B to Evaluate Traumatic Brain Injury in the Presence of Acute Alcohol
Intoxication. Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation, 2011 (in press).
8. Lange, RT, Iverson, GL, Brubacher, JR, Mädle, B, Heran M, Diffusion
Tensor Imaging Findings are Not Strongly Associated with Post-
Concussional Disorder Two Months following Mild Traumatic Brain Injury.
J Head Trauma Rehabilitation, 2011 (in press).
9. Brubacher JR, Chan H, Asbridge M. Development and Validation of a
Canadian Culpability Scale. Traffic Injury Prevention, Dec 2011 (in press).
10. Cherpitel C, Ye Y, Watters K, Brubacher J, Stenstrom R. Risk of injury
from alcohol and drug use in the emergency department: a case-crossover
study. Drug and Alcohol Review, 2011 (in press).
11. Cherpitel CJ, Martin G, Macdonald S, Brubacher JR, Stenstrom R.
Alcohol and drug use as predictors of intentional injuries in two emergency
departments in British Columbia. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs,
2011 (in press).
12. Ashwell Z, McKay MP, Brubacher JR, Gareau A. The Epidemiology of
Mountain Bike Park Injuries at the Whistler Bike Park, British Columbia
(BC), Canada. Wilderness & Environmental Medicine, 2011 (in press).
13. Filiatrault L, Harriman D, Abu-Laban RB, FitzGerald JM, Chahal AM,
McKnight RD. Compliance with CAEP asthma clinical practice guidelines
at a tertiary care emergency department. CJEM, 2011 (in press).
14. Filiatrault L, McKay R, Patrick DM, Quan G, Brubacher JR, Collins KM.
Antibiotic Resistance in Isolates Recovered from Women with Community-
Acquired Urinary Tract Infections (UTI) Presenting to a Tertiary Care
Emergency Department (ED). CJEM, 2011 (in press).
15. Fukushima E, Gill G, Abu-Laban R, Sweet D. Prevalence of Advance
Directives Among Elderly Patients Attending an Urban Emergency
Department. Can J Emerg Med, CJEM, 2011 (in press).
Publications Continued
Page 5
Volume 12
awards
16. Ho K, Gingerich A, Shen N, Voyer S, Weerasinghe C, Snadden D. Remote
hands-on interactive medical education: video feedback for medical
students. Medical Education, 2011;45(5):522-3.
17. Hohl C, Nosyk B, Kuramoto L, Sobolev B, Zed P, Brubacher JR, Abu-
Laban R, Sheps S. Outcomes of patients who present to the emergency
department because of an adverse drug event. Ann Emerg Med,
2011;58:223-314.
18. Hohl C, Yu E, Hunte G, Brubacher J, Hosseini F, Argent C, Chan W,
Wiens M. Clinical decision rules to improve the detection of adverse drug
events in emergency department patients. Academic Emergency Medicine,
2011, (in press).
19. Hohl CM, Kelly-Smith CH, Yeung TC, Sweet DD, Doyle-Waters MM,
Schulzer M. The effect of a bolus dose of etomidate on cortisol levels,
mortality, and health services utilization: Asystematic review. Database of
Abstracts of Reviews of Effects, 2011, (in press).
20. Perry JJ, Still IG, Sivilotti ML, Bullard M, Émond M, SymingtonC,
Sutherland J, Worster A, Hohl CM, Lee JS, Eisenhauer M, Mortensen M,
Mackey D, Pauls M, Lesiuk H, Wells GA. Sensitivity of Computed
Tomography Performed Within Six Hours of Onset of Headache for
Diagnosis of Subarachnoid Haemorrhage: Prospective Cohort Study BMJ
2011;343:d4277.
21. Kelly-Smith C, Hohl CM. Should Emergency Physicians Use Etomidate
For Rapid Sequence Intubation? Can J Emerg Med 2011;13:44-7.
22. Buxton JA, Kuo M, Purssell RA. Agranulocytosis (neutropenia) associated
with levamisole in cocaine in British Columbia: BCMJ, 2011; 53: 169.
23. Lepik KJ, Sobolev BG, Levy AR, Purssell RA, De Witt CR, Erhardt GD,
Baker JL, Kennedy JR, Daws DE. Medication errors associated with the use
of ethanol and fomepizole as antidotes for methanol and ethylene glycol
poisoning. J Toxicol/Clinical Toxicol, 2011;49:391-401.
24. Gair R, Kent D, Purssell RA, Copland M. Chronic digoxin toxicity in
elderly British Columbians. BCMJ, 2011;53:490-491.
25. Purssell RA, Brubacher JR: British Columbia’s evidenced-based
approach to addressing the problem of impaired driving – Impressive results
after 12 months. BCMJ, 2012;54:91.
26. Yarema MC, Johnson DW, Sivilotti ML, Nettel-Aguirre A, Victorino C,
DeWitt C, Gosselin S, Gee AS, Dong KA, Haney E, Bailey B, Purssell RA,
Publications Continued
Dr. Eric Vu
Sepsis Research
Thompson M, Myers RP, Lord JA, Murphy NG, Berlin RJ, Spyker DA,
Rumack BH. Morbidity and mortality from acetaminophen poisoning: A 30
-year experience. Clin Tox 2011;49:591.
27. Djogovic D, Green R, Keyes R, Sweet D. et al. Canadian Association of
Emergency Physicians sepsis treatment checklist: Optimizing sepsis care in
Canadian emergency departments. CJEM, 2011, (in press).
28. Sweet D, Marsden J, Krause C, Ho K, Russell J. Sepsis: The simple stuff
saves lives. BCMJ, 2012, (in press).
29. Sweet D, Russell J, Krause C, Marsden J, Ho K. Sepsis management in
B.C. BCMJ, 2012, (in press).
30. Richards M, Sreenivasan G, Dhingra V, Sweet D, Shen L. Hemophagocytic
syndromes in adult intensive care units. J Intensive Care Med, 2011;26:
343.
31. J. Hudson, M. Vu, E. Vu. Successful intubation using retrograde trans-
tracheal illumination after laryngoscope light source failure. Br. J. Anaesth.
2010;105: 96-97.
Publications Continued
Abstracts and Presentations
1. Abu-Laban RB. ED Overcrowding: Do We Have a Moral Imperative to
Act? June 2011, CAEP conference, St. John’s Newfoundland
2. Abu-Laban RB. Developer and Course Director, FRCP-EM Resident
Research Block. Oct – Nov, 2011. UBC.
3. Brubacher JR, Chan H, Asbridge M, Brant R, Martz W, Mann R,
Andolfatto G, Bryan S, Drummer O, Macdonald S, Purssell R, Schreiber
W. Cannabis and Motor Vehicle Crashes: Preliminary findings. Canadian
Injury Prevention and Safety Promotion Conference, Vancouver, Nov 2011.
4. Brubacher JR, Chan H (Presenting Author), Asbridge M. Development and
validation of a Canadian culpability scale. Canadian Injury Prevention and
Safety Promotion Conference, Vancouver, Nov 2011.
5. Brubacher JR, Chan H. Developing a Canadian Culpability Scale for
Motor Vehicle Crashes. UBC DEM Research Day, Mar 2011.
6. Brubacher JR. Proposal for a British Columbia Road Safety Research and
Evaluation Centre. British Columbia Injury Prevention Leadership and
Action Network. Sept 2011.
patients each year
7. Brubacher JR. Formulating a Hypothesis and Defining a Research
Question, FRCP-EM Resident Research Block. UBC. Oct 2011.
8. Brubacher JR. Cannabis (and other drugs) and Motor Vehicle Crashes.
Issues of Substance Conference Special Session. Drug-Impaired Driving in
Canada. Vancouver, Nov 2011.
9. Brubacher JR. Grantsmanship, Timelines, Budgets, and Funding
Opportunities. FRCP-EM Resident Research Block. UBC, Nov 2011.
10. Ashwell Z, McKay MP, Brubacher JR (Presenting Author), Gareau A,
Jang W. The Epidemiology of Mountain Bike Park Injuries at the Whistler
Bike Park. Canadian Injury Prevention and Safety Promotion Conference,
Vancouver, Nov 2011.
11. Asbridge M, Brubacher JR, Chan H. Cell phone use and traffic crash
responsibility: a culpability analysis. Canadian Injury Prevention and Safety
Promotion Conference, Vancouver, Nov 2011.
12. Jang W, Brubacher JR. Cycling Injuries in North Vancouver, 2009.
Canadian Injury Prevention and Safety Promotion Conference, Vancouver,
Nov 2011.
13. Teschke K, Babul S, Chipman ML, Cripton PA, Cusimano MD, Harris MA,
Reynolds CCO, Winters M, Brubacher JR, Hunte G, Friedman SM, Shen
H. Bicyclists Injuries and the Cycling Environment: The impact of route
type. Canadian Injury Prevention and Safety Promotion Conference.
Vancouver, Nov 2011.
14. Teschke K, Babul S, Chipman ML, Cripton PA, Cusimano MD, Harris MA,
Reynolds CCO, Winters M, Brubacher JR, Hunte G, Friedman SM, Shen
H. Bicyclists Injuries and the Cycling Environment: The impact of route
infrastructure. Sustainable Mobility Summit 2011 – Shaping Urban Travel
Choices. Vancouver, Nov 2011.
15. Dr. Kawai Cheung: A Randomized Controlled Trial of an ED Based
Smoking Cessation Counselling Program. UBD, DEM Research Rounds,
2011.
Research Day, Mar 2011.
Education, Medical Aid, and Services Overseas Organization. Presented at
Xiamen and Suzhou, China, Nov 2011.
18. Dick W. Coronary Computed Tomographic Angiography in Emergency
Abstracts and Presentations Continued
Dr. Anthony Chahal
emergency department
Chest Pain patients as intermediate risk of acute coronary syndrome. UBC
DEM Research Day. Mar 2011.
19. Ho K, Novak Lauscher H. Inter-Cultural Online health Network:
implications for engaging the Public. Department of Emergency Medicine
Research Day Presentation. Vancouver, BC. Mar 2011.
22. Mars M, Scott R, Ho K. Global eHealth. COACH annual National eHealth
Conference. Toronto, Ontario. May 2011.
23. Cordeiro J, Ho K, Newmann T, Novak-Lauscher H. Technology Enabled
Academic Detailing Provincial Program. COACH annual National eHealth
Conference. Toronto, Ontario. May 2011.
24. Kamal N, Fels S, Blackstock M, Ho K. VivoSpace: Towards health
behaviour change using social gaming. International Conference on
Entertainment Computing ICEC 2011. Vancouver, B.C. Oct 2011.
27. Ho K. John E. Whitmore Memorial Presentation, ((Invited Lecture). Baylor
College, Houston Texas, Jan 2011.
28. Ho K. United Nations Millennium Development Goals Workshop.
University of Korea Medical School, Seoul, Korea, Feb 2011.
29. Ho K. Global eHealth and electronic community of practice. King Saud bin
Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences. Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, March
2011.
roundtable, National eHealth Conference, May 2011.
31. Ho K. ehealth evaluation. Brazil-Canada eHealth Collaboration Conference.
Ottawa, June 2011.
32. Ho K. Public Health Informatics: introduction (Guest faculty), Hong Kong
University School of Public Health. Aug 2011.
33. Ho K. eHealth and global Health (Keynote speaker), University of Missouri
Health and Bioinformatics day. Missouri, Oct 2011.
34. Ho K. iCON. Lawson Foundation 10th Anniversary Diabetes research
forum. Oct 2011.
35. Ho K. eHealth in promoting Autism education. Autism Speaks International
Conference. Shanghai, China, Nov 2011.
36. Ho K. Global eHealth. Brazil eHealth Conference. Manaus, Brazil, Nov
2011.
37. Hohl CM, Yu ES, Hunte G, Brubacher JR, Hosseini F, Argent C, Chan
W, Wiens M, Sheps S, Singer J. Clinical Decision Rules to Improve the
Abstracts and Presentations Continued
Detection of Adverse Drug Events in Emergency Department Patients.
American College of Emergency Physicians, San Francisco, Oct 2011.
38. Karpov A, Yu E, Mok C, Hohl CM. Between-Rater Reliability of Historical
Variables Used in a Routine ED Patient Evaluation. American College of
Emergency Physicians, San Francisco, Oct 2011.
39. Hohl CM. Validation and Pilot Implementation of a Screening Strategy for
Adverse Drug Events in the ED. Department of Emergency Medicine,
Research Day, Vancouver, BC. Mar. 2011.
40. Hohl CM. Emergency Department Adverse Drug Event Screening Project:
A Regional Demonstration Project. Presented to the Pharmacy Departments
of Lion’s Gate Hospital, Richmond Hospital, Saint Paul’s Hospital, and
Vancouver General Hospital. 2011.
41. Hohl CM. Emergency Department Adverse Drug Event Screening Project:
A Regional Demonstration Project. Health Quality Network, BC Patient
Safety and Quality Council. 2011.
42. Hohl CM. Systematic Reviews – just for NERDS. FRCP-EM Resident
Research Block. UBC. Nov 2011.
43. Hohl CM. Implementing an Adverse Drug Event Screening Program in
Four Emergency Departments: Methods for Evaluating a Complex Medical
Intervention. Research Rounds. UBC DEM.
44. Hohl CM. Risk Stratification in Medication Reconciliation and Adverse
Drug Event Screening: A Demonstration Project. BC Quality and Patient
Safety Conference, Victoria, BC.
45. Hohl CM. Adverse Drug Events in the Emergency Department – Should we
Care? Grand Rounds. Lion’s Gate Hospital, North Vancouver, BC
46. Hohl CM. Towards Improved Improved Medication Safety – Surveillance
of Adverse Drug Events in the ED (SAEED). Webinar Presentation for the
Canadian Patient Safety Institute (CPSI) and the Institute for Safe
Medication Practices.
47. Khazei A. Hyperbaric and Diving Medicine as a sub-specialty of
Emergency Medicine, UBC Undergraduate Medical Students Careers night.
Vancouver General Hospital, Mar 2011.
48. Khazei A. Simulation-assisted Emergency Medicine Procedures (SEMP)
Course. Campbell River, Apr 2011.
49. Khazei A. Principles of Emergency Medicine Resuscitation. A Simulation-
based Seminar for UBC FOM Phase 4 medical students. CESEI, Vancouver
General Hospital, May 2011.
Abstracts and Presentations Continued
Herb Chan, PhD
Course. Whistler, Sept 2011.
51. Khazei A. Critical Care Simulation workshop. Whistler, . Oct 2011.
52. Khazei A. Simulation-assisted Emergency Medicine Procedures (SEMP)
Course. CESEI, Vancouver General Hospital, Nov 2011.
53. Buxton JA, Kuo M, Purssell RA, Young S. Agranulocytosis (Neutropenia)
Associated with Levamisole in Cocaine in British Columbia. 2008-2011.
Issues of Substance Conference, Vancouver, Nov 2011.
54. Purssell RA. Rural Toxicology. Northern BC Annual EM CME
Conference. May 2011.
55. Purssell RA. Agranulocytosis Secondary to Levamisole in Cocaine. Grand
Rounds - BC Centre for Disease Control. June 2011.
56. Purssell RA. BC's Impaired Driving Laws - National Day of Remembrance
for road crash victims in Canada and the First Year of Success in Saving
Lives Under B.C.'s New Impaired Driving Law, Front Driveway BC
Legislature, Victoria, Nov 2011.
57. Purssell RA. Adverse Effects caused by Levamisole in Cocaine. Grand
Rounds, Poison Centre of Ontario, Hospital Sick Children, Toronto, Feb
2011.
Emergency Physicians Annual Conference, St. John's Newfoundland, June
2011.
59. Purssell RA. Collection of Evidence from Injured Alcohol Impaired
Drivers. Address: National Meeting MADD Mothers Against Drunk
Driving, Toronto, Sept 2011.
60. Purssell RA. Methanol and Ethylene Glycol Poisoning. 25th Anniversary
Conference Poison and Drug Information Centre of Alberta, Calgary, Nov
2011.
61. Purssell RA. Five Articles in Toxicology that have changed my Practice.
25th Anniversary Conference Poison and Drug Information Centre of
Alberta, Calgary, Nov 2011.
62. Sweet D, Marsden J, Krause C, Kamal N, Needs A, Procter K, Ho K, Ertel
M, Stenstrom R. Implementation of Emergency Department Sepsis
Guidelines: A 3 Year Journey. IHI conference, Orlando 2011.
63. Shirzad S. Telemedicine based critical care training for rural physicians in
Nunavit, Canada. UBC, DEM Research Day, Vancouver, Mar 2011.
Abstracts and Presentations Continued
Smoking Cessation: Ely Weston, Dr. KaWai Cheung, Aman-
da Lane, Svea Ogilvie, Leah Hawirko
Director
Roy Purssell (Road Safety)
Herb Chan (Road Safety)
Vancouver General Hospital Emergency Medicine Research Office, Rm JPN G401. tel: 604-875-4205
Research Personnel
Road Safety: