The Brigham’s Division of Thoracic Surgery launched a care continuum collaborative in 2011 to monitor the progress of patients discharged to Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital after thoracic surgery. Namrata Patil, MD, MPH, details why she founded the collaboration and its beneficial impact on patient care.

Once the final chest drain is removed after cardiothoracic surgery, it is common practice to obtain a chest X-ray to evaluate for air or fluid that may have accumulated in the process of drain removal. However, the results of a retrospective study at Brigham and Women’s Hospital suggest routine imaging isn’t necessary.

Brigham researchers conducted a prospective trial in which Black and Latinx adults with asthma, whose mortality rates from asthma are twice as high as those of white individuals, were asked to use an inhaled glucocorticoid whenever they used a quick reliever. They reported improvements on every outcome measure studied.

Numerous approaches to diaphragm plication procedures have been reported, with no consensus on the ideal technique. Surgeons at Brigham and Women’s Hospital have developed a radial diaphragm plication technique that makes use of thoracoscopic instruments to increase lung volume with long-term benefits.