Press Releases

Boston Medical Center Press Releases

Improvements Needed for Hepatitis C Testing in Youth

BOSTON – A new study led by Boston Medical Center uncovered a need to improve testing rates for Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) in young people, specifically those with documented substance use history. In the national data sample, under 30 percent of young patients who reported using opioids, methamphetamine, and/or cocaine were tested for HCV. Given the increased incidence of HCV in the US, especially among young people, fueled by the opioid epidemic, the study highlights the importance of ensuring that clinicians better screen and test younger patients for HCV when they present with risk factors, as well as connect those found to have current infection to treatment.

National Group Publishes Approach to Improve Pediatric Sepsis Surveillance

BOSTON- Sepsis is a major public health problem, contributing to substantial disability, death, and healthcare costs in the United States among both adults and children. Though sepsis is the focus of worldwide prevention and quality improvement efforts, tracking sepsis rates and outcomes is challenging because a definitive diagnostic test does not yet exist. Sepsis is particularly difficult to track in infants and children because of age-related differences in responses to infection and treatment approaches.

Yoga and Physical Therapy as Treatment for Chronic Lower Back Pain Also Improves Sleep

BOSTON- Yoga and physical therapy (PT) are effective approaches to treating co-occurring sleep disturbance and back pain while reducing the need for medication, according to a new study from Boston Medical Center (BMC). Published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, the research showed significant improvements in sleep quality lasting 52 weeks after 12 weeks of yoga classes or 1-on-1 PT, which suggests a long-term benefit of these non-pharmacologic approaches. In addition, participants with early improvements in pain after 6 weeks of treatment were three and a half times more likely to have improvements in sleep after the full, 12-week treatment, highlighting that pain and sleep are closely related.

Boston Medical Center Selected for National Multi-Site Demonstration to Advance Integrated Care Models for People with Complex Needs

BOSTON - The Center for the Urban Child and Healthy Family at Boston Medical Center has been chosen to participate in Advancing Integrated Models - AIM, a multi-site demonstration promoting innovative, person-centered strategies to improve care for adults and children with complex health and social needs. Made possible with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and led by the Center for Health Care Strategies (CHCS), AIM will assist health system and provider organizations in designing and piloting new approaches to integrate care for people with complex needs with a focus on improving health outcomes and fostering health equity.

Social Determinant Screening Useful For Families With Pediatric Sickle Cell Disease

Individuals with sickle cell disease (SCD) face the burdens of chronic illness and often racial disparities, both of which may increase vulnerability to adverse social determinants of health (SDoH). For children with SCD, living in poverty is associated with lower quality of life, higher healthcare utilization and higher complication rates. However, a new study from Boston Medical Center (BMC) demonstrates that hematologists can uncover the needs of families and connect them to local resources within a clinic visit with the hope of improving quality of life and clinical outcomes for their patients.

One in Three Young Adults Receive Medication for Opioid Use Disorder After Overdose

BOSTON – A new study found that one in three young adults receive medication for opioid use disorder within 12 months of a non-fatal opioid overdose. The study, led by researchers at Boston Medical Center’s Grayken Center for Addiction, in collaboration with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH), shows which medications – buprenorphine, methadone or naltrexone – are being taken, and how long after the overdose they receive the treatment. Published online in Annals of Emergency Medicine, the results provide important new data that can help increase access and time to medication for opioid use disorder for young adults who survive an overdose, including in an emergency department setting.

Community Responders More Likely to Seek Help During Overdose when Naloxone Does Not Work

BOSTON- Calling emergency services is an integral part of overdose response training. This step may be even more important in the setting of rapidly-progressing overdoses from fentanyl. New research from Boston Medical Center’s Grayken Center for Addiction found, however, that community members responding to an overdose with naloxone are more likely to seek emergency help when naloxone does not work or takes more time to work. Published in Drug and Alcohol Dependence, the results show several factors associated with calling emergency services when helping someone with naloxone.

Researchers Identify Focus Points to Reduce Opioid Overdose Deaths

Boston – A new study identifies specific locations where medication and harm reduction services for people with opioid use disorder should be available in order to have the greatest impact on reducing opioid overdose deaths. Led by researchers at Boston Medical Center’s Grayken Center for Addiction, the data show that more than half of those who died of an opioid overdose in Massachusetts encountered the health care, public health and/or criminal justice systems within the 12 months prior to their fatal overdose. These results, published in Drug and Alcohol Dependence, provide a roadmap to better reach these individuals at high risk of overdose and provide treatment and harm reduction services in order to reduce the number of overdose deaths.

Review: Post Opioid-Overdose Interventions Emerge in U.S.

BOSTON- Opioid-related deaths continue to take the lives of thousands in the U.S. each year, with non-fatal opioid overdoses as a significant risk factor for a subsequent fatal overdose. Post-overdose interventions are emerging in affected communities, using what support systems are available to assist in the program design.

Study: Naltrexone to Treat Opioid Use Disorder during Pregnancy Favorable for Mom, Baby

BOSTON –Infants born to mothers taking naltrexone to treat opioid use disorder during pregnancy developed no signs of neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome (NOWS) during their hospitalization, a new study shows. In comparison to infants of mothers taking buprenorphine during pregnancy, infants exposed to naltrexone had shorter hospital stays, and mothers reported no use of other opioids during their pregnancy. Led by researchers at Boston Medical Center, the findings provide important preliminary data on the outcomes for both mother and baby when naltrexone is used to treat opioid use disorder during pregnancy.

Boston Medical Center, Boston Children's Hospital and Brigham and Women's Hospital Collaborate to Create Housing Stability in Boston

BOSTON - Boston Medical Center, Boston Children’s Hospital, and Brigham and Women’s Hospital will invest nearly $3 million over three years into housing stability through the Innovative Stable Housing Initiative (ISHI), a pilot project with the goal to identify, assess, and fund strategic approaches to increase housing stability for Greater Boston’s most vulnerable populations.

Physicians Call for an End to Conversion Therapy

(Boston) — Conversion therapy is a broad term used to describe practices and actions aimed at changing people’s sexual orientation or gender identity - to turn anyone who doesn’t identify as “straight” into a “straight” person. Historically, conversion therapies have used electroshock therapy, chemical drugs, hormone administrations and even surgery. While these extreme practices are becoming rarer, many other harmful actions are still taking place, negatively impacting both children and adolescents as well as adults in the U.S., according to a perspective in this week’s New England Journal of Medicine.

Polysubstance Use, Social Factors Associated with Opioid Overdose Death

A new study led by Boston Medical Center’s Grayken Center for Addiction shows that opioid-related overdose deaths involving another substance is now the norm, not the exception, in Massachusetts. The researchers analyzed opioid overdose death data from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, which showed that 82 percent of those deaths involved an opioid and another substance, including stimulants. Of importance, the researchers also identified specific sociodemographic factors and social determinants of health associated more with polysubstance opioid-related overdose deaths.

Embedded Psychiatrist in Pediatric Clinic Improves Evaluation Access, Short-Term Treatment

BOSTON— A novel method of embedding child psychiatric care in an urban pediatrics clinic was found to be feasible and a promising way to increase access to and engagement in psychiatric care among a primarily Latino population, according to new study from Boston Medical Center researchers. The study is the first to provide initial evidence for the effectiveness of this intervention, which could have important implications for underserved and minority populations that experience disparities in psychiatric care.

Study: Widespread Testing, Treatment of Hepatitis C in U.S. Prisons Is Cost Effective, improves Outcomes

BOSTON— At current drug prices, testing all persons entering prison for Hepatitis C, treating those who have at least 12 months remaining in their sentence, and linking individuals with less than 12 months in their sentence to care upon their release would result in improved health outcomes. Published in Clinical Infectious Diseases, researchers found that these approaches provide the best value-for-money compared to not testing or treating any prisoners, or only testing and treating prisoners at high risk of Hepatitis C (HCV). While cost-effective, however, the data also show that these approaches would place a large cost burden on the correctional system.

Boston Medical Center Develops Social Needs Screener as Part of Electronic Health Record to Improve Patient Outcomes

Boston – Boston Medical Center (BMC) has implemented a social determinants of health screener for primary care patients in order to better identify and address patients’ unmet social needs. Clinician researchers developed the electronic health record-based (EHR) model, THRIVE, which facilitates an automatic print out of referral information for resources based at the hospital and in the community when the patient asks for help with a need they have identified in the screener. The hospital’s work, published in Medical Care, demonstrates an innovative systematic model that can help clinicians better address the social needs of patients to improve their overall health.

Reduction and Loss of SNAP Benefits Tied to Increased Food Insecurity and Poor Health among Working Families with Children

Families with young children who experienced a reduction or cutoff in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits because of increased income were more likely to experience food insecurity and report poor health following the benefit change, according to new research from Children’s HealthWatch, based out of Boston Medical Center (BMC), and published in the May issue of Health Affairs.

New Study Finds Test of Protein Levels in the Eye a Potential Predictor of (Future) Alzheimer’s Disease

Low levels of amyloid-β and tau proteins, biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), in eye fluid were significantly associated with low cognitive scores, according to a new study published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease. Led by researchers at Boston Medical Center, the study is the first to connect these known AD protein biomarkers in the eye to mental status. These findings indicate that proteins in the eye may be a potential source for an accessible, cost-effective test to predict future Alzheimer’s disease.

Medications Could Fill Treatment Gap for Adolescents with Obesity

BOSTON – Twelve independent pediatric obesity medicine and surgery specialists, led by experts at Boston Medical Center (BMC), outline an urgent need for evidence-based guidance on the use of obesity pharmacotherapy for adolescents in the Obesity research journal. With almost one of five youth struggling with obesity, weight loss medications could be effective options to treat adolescent obesity that has not improved with other measures.

Investigators Close In on Best Treatment Guidelines for Critical Limb Ischemia with 1,572 Patients Enrolled in Ongoing Trial

(Boston) - Critical limb ischemia (CLI), a manifestation of peripheral arterial disease, is a debilitating and increasingly common disease that puts patients at a high risk for leg amputation, cardiovascular complications, and death. A new report in the Journal of Vascular Surgery chronicles a multi-site randomized controlled trial that seeks to compare treatment efficacy, functional outcomes, cost effectiveness, and quality of life for 2,100 patients suffering from the condition.

Grayken Study First to Link Opioid Pharmaceutical Marketing to Overdose Deaths

Boston – Researchers from the Grayken Center for Addiction at Boston Medical Center have published the first study linking higher levels of opioid pharmaceutical marketing to physicians with overdose deaths. Published in JAMA Network Open, the data show that, across US counties, when physicians prescribe more opioids, the number of prescription opioid overdose deaths is higher, and that this is driven by opioid pharmaceutical companies marketing their products to physicians. Overdose deaths and opioid prescribing were more strongly linked with the number of marketing interactions, not the total money spent, indicating a pressing need to address how low-cost but widespread marketing activities, such as industry-sponsored meals, are regulated.