Brian H. Rowe, MD, MSc, CCFP(EM), FCCP

PROFESSOR AND RESEARCH DIRECTOR

Canada Research Chair in Emergency Airway Diseases

Division of Emergency Medicine,
University of Alberta
Phone: (780) 407-6707
Brian.Rowe@ualberta.ca

Research Interests

Dr. Rowe is a member of the Division of Emergency Medicine at the University of Alberta and a clinical Emergency Physician at the University of Alberta Hospital, both in Edmonton, Alberta. He obtained his MD from the University of Ottawa in 1984, and completed training in Family and Emergency Medicine at the University of Ottawa in 1987. Dr. Rowe’s research training is in Clinical Epidemiology from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, and his interests include systematic reviews, clinical trials, airway diseases (asthma, COPD, community acquired pneumonia), and injury prevention. He has been the Research Director of the Division of Emergency Medicine since his arrival in Edmonton from the University of Ottawa in 1997 and was appointed Professor in 2003. In April of 2001, Dr. Rowe was awarded a Canada Research Council Chair in Emergency Airway Diseases, a salary award which runs for 5 years. Dr. Rowe contributes to the Airways Review Group (www.cochrane-airways.ac.uk) of the Cochrane Collaboration as a Co-editor and as an author and reviewer. Dr. Rowe is also the Chair of the CAEP Research Consortium, a network of Emergency Physicians with an interest in multi-centered research collaboration (www.caep.ca/rc). He is on the Editorial Board of the Annals of Emergency Medicine, and contributes to the Evidence-Based Medicine section of the journal. He is the recipient of numerous teaching and community service awards. He is cross-appointed in the Departments of Public Health Sciences and Psychiatry at the University of Alberta.

Highlighted Publications

• Cydulka RK, Rowe BH, Clark S, Emerman CL, Camargo CA Jr, on behalf of the MARC Investigators. Management of Asthma and COPD Exacerbations among Patients Age 55+ presenting to the Emergency Department: The Multicenter Airway Research Collaboration. J Amer Assoc Ger 2003; 51(7):908-916.

• Zed P, Rowe BH, Loewen P, Abu-Laban R. Systematic reviews in emergency medicine: Part I. Can J Emerg Med 2003; 5:331-335.

• Zed PJ, Rowe BH, Loewen PS, Abu-Laban RB. Systematic reviews in emergency medicine: Part II. Can J Emerg Med 2003; 6:406-411.

• Camargo CA Jr, Spooner CH, Rowe BH. Continuous versus intermittent beta-agonists in the treatment of acute asthma (Cochrane Review). In: The Cochrane Library, Issue 4, 2003. Oxford: Update Software

• Spooner CH, Spooner R, Rowe BH. Mast-cell stabilizing agents to prevent exercise-induced bronchoconstriction (Cochrane Review). In: The Cochrane Library, Issue 4, 2003. Oxford: Update Software.

• Aaron S, Vandemheen K, Hebert P, Dales R, Stiell IG, Ahuja J, Dickinson G, Brison R, Rowe BH, et al. Oral prednisone for the prevention of relapse in outpatients discharged from the emergency department with exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. N Engl J Med 2003;348:2618-25.

• Barr RG, Rowe BH, Camargo CA Jr. Methylxanthines for exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: meta-analysis of randomised trials. BMJ 2003; 327:643.

• Stiell IG, Clement CM, McKnight RD, Wells GA, Brison R, Schull MJ, Rowe BH, et al. Comparative validation of the Canadian C-Spine Rule and the NEXUS Low-Risk Criteria in alert and stable trauma patients. N Engl J Med 2003; 349: 2510-2518.

• Smith M, Iqbal S, Elliott TM, Everard M, Rowe BH. Corticosteroids for hospitalised children with acute asthma (Cochrane Review). In: The Cochrane Library, Issue 2, 2003. Oxford: Update Software.

• Kim N, Rowe BH, Raymond G, Jen H, Colman I, Jackson SA, Siminoski KG, Chahal AM, Folk D, Majumdar SR. Underreporting of vertebral fractures on routine chest radiography. Am J Roentgenology. 2004; 182:297-301.

• Yiannakoulias N, Svenson LW, Hill, MD, Schopflocher DP, Rowe BH, James RC, Wielgosz AT, Noseworthy TW Incident cerebrovascular disease in rural and urban Alberta. Cerebrovascular Diseases 2004; 17:72-78.

• Holroyd BR, Wilson D, Rowe BH, Mayes DC, Noseworthy T. Uptake of validated clinical practice guidelines: Experience with implementing the Ottawa ankle rules. Amer J Emerg Med 2003; 22:149-155.

  vEzekowitz J, McAlister FA, Weibe N, Spooner C, Rowe BH, Crumley E, Hartling L, Klassen TP, Abraham W. Cardiac resynchronization in patients with symptomatic heart failure: a systematic review. Ann Int Med 2004 (in press).

• Majumdar SR, Rowe BH, Folk D, Johnson JA, Holroyd BR, Morrish D, et al. Increasing detection and treatment of osteoporosis in patients with wrist fractures: Results of a controlled trial of knowledge translation. Ann Intern Med 2004 (in press).

• Rowe BH, Edmonds ML, Spooner CH, Diner B, Camargo CA Jr. The use of corticosteroids in acute asthma. Respiratory Medicine 2004; 98:275-84.

• Rowe BH. Non-invasive ventilation for severe COPD. Ann Emerg Med 2004; 43:133-5.

• Kim S, Emerman CL, Cydulka RK, Rowe BH, Clark S, Camargo CA. Prospective multicenter study of relapse following emergency department treatment of COPD exacerbation. Chest. 2004; 125:473-81.

• Spooner CH, Spooner GR, Jones A, Rowe BH. Combined inhaled beta-agonist and anticholinergic agents in the emergency management of adult asthmatic patients (Cochrane Review). In: The Cochrane Library, (in press), 2004. Oxford: Update Software.

• Rowe BH, Emond J, Camargo CA. The use of magnesium sulfate in acute asthma: Rapid uptake of evidence in North American emergency departments. Chest 2004 (in press)

• Wyer PC, Rowe BH, Neuman D. Annals of Emergency Medicine, Evidence-Based Emergency Medicine: Rational Clinical Examination Abstracts. Ann Emerg Med 2004 (in press).

• Magee K, Sevcik W, Moher D, Rowe BH. A systematic review of heparins in the early treatment of acute coronary syndromes (Cochrane Review). In: The Cochrane Library, 2004 (in press). Oxford: Update Software.

Current Sources of Funding

• Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)
• Janssen-Ortho
• Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)
• University of Alberta Hospital Foundation
• Royal Alexandra Hospital Foundation
• Canada Research Council
  1. Co-Investigator (Rowe): Strategies targeting osteoporosis to prevent recurrent fractures – STOP# Study. Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). February 1, 2003 – December 2005. ($332,889 over two years).
  2. Co-Investigator (Rowe): “STRESS” Stress, Trauma & Recovery: Early Stage Studies. Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). April, 2003 – March 31, 2008. ($202,246/yr).
  3. Principal Investigator (Rowe): Antibiotics in COPD Exacerbations (ACE) Study. Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). April 1, 2003 – March 31, 2008. ($299,000/yr).
  4. Principal-Investigator (Rowe): Clinical practice guidelines for acute COPD in the Emergency Department. AIR Grant Competition (Janssen-Ortho). July 1, 2003 – June 30, 2004. ($50,000).
  5. Co-Investigator (Rowe): Evaluation of an Active Strategy to Implement the Canadian CT Head Rule: Phase III. Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). July 1, 2003 – March 31, 2008. ($538,656 over 4 years).
  6. Co-Investigator (Rowe). Occupational asthma: diagnosis and treatment. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). December 1, 2003 – December 1, 2004 ($288,204 US over 1 year).
  7. Principal Investigator (Rowe): Validation and responsiveness of urinary markers of inflammation and infection in acute asthma and COPD seen in the Emergency Department. University of Alberta Hospital Foundation. Dec 2003- Jan 2005 ($24,970).

Current Research Personnel

• Sandra Blitz, Biostatistician

• Dana Rae Dancy, Research Coordinator

• Dave Meurer, Informatics Researcher

• Michelle Pachal, Research Coordinator (Sturgeon Site)

• Carol Spooner, Epidemiologist

• Leslie Tyler, Research Coordinator

• Ginny Willis, Research Coordinator

• Sue Wright, Research Coordinator

• Brigette Zilkalns, Research Coordinator