Category: Uncategorized

New Childhood TB Estimates Double the Number Previously Thought

Posted on by Amanda

Researchers from BWH and Harvard Medical School have estimated that around one million children suffer from tuberculosis (TB) annually— twice the number previously thought to have tuberculosis and three times the number that are diagnosed every year.

The researchers also estimated that around 32,000 children suffer from multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) annually. These findings were published in The Lancet on March 23, 2014.

“Despite children comprising approximately one quarter of the world’s population, there have been no previous estimates of how many suffer from MDR-TB disease,” explained Ted Cohen, MD, DrPH, HMS associate professor of Medicine in BWH’s Division of Global Health Equity and co-senior author of this study. “Our estimate of the total number of new cases of childhood TB is twice that estimated by the WHO in 2011 and three times the number of child TB cases notified globally each year.”

These findings underscore the urgent need for expanded investment in the global response to TB and MDR-TB in children.

“Our findings demonstrate that there is a need for improved methods for collecting data on childhood TB. A good starting place would be improved diagnostic methods for children and more systematic collection of information on how many children are suffering with this disease,” explained Helen Jenkins, PhD, HMS instructor in BWH’s Division of Global Health Equity and lead statistician on the project.

Read more about the study in this article by Fox News.

Nurse Shares “Eye-Opening” Experience in Cajamarca, Peru

Posted on by Amanda
Check In Day (3)
A line of patients and family members waiting to check in for surgery.

By Tiffany Alongi, RN, PCCN
Trauma, Burn and Surgical Critical Care Units

Audrey Hepburn once said, “As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands- one for helping yourself, the other for helping others.”

As a young, fresh faced graduate I was thrilled to be starting my career in one of the most prominent and cutting edge hospitals in the country. The idea of nursing was something I had always dreamed of doing. However, the complexity of a true nursing position quickly became evident to me. Nursing is an action packed, fast paced, ‘roll with the punches’ type of position that many are ill-equipped for, but I loved everything about it. I was one of those rare people that when asked could honestly say, “I love my job.”

Alongi
Tiffany Alongi

Nonetheless, I had begun to feel a growing dissatisfaction. I acknowledged all that I had done here in the states and the impact I had made on some of my patients, but I began to wonder what else I could be doing.  I longed to spread my love for nursing beyond the walls of BWH. Rather than patients coming to me, I wanted to travel to them. I sought to employ my passion, empathy and knowledge on a more international scale in order to help treat patients around the world.

In November 2013, I embarked on a medical mission to Cajamarca, Peru, with an organization known as Medical Mission for Children. MMFC is a nonprofit volunteer based organization which travels to remote geographical locations in order to help children and young adults with the surgical repair of cleft lip and palate deformities, burn injuries, microtia and head or neck tumors. The focus of my mission was to repair cleft lips and palates and dental extractions. Continue reading “Nurse Shares “Eye-Opening” Experience in Cajamarca, Peru” →

Nurse Shares “Eye-Opening” Experience in Cajamarca, Peru

Posted on by Amanda
Check In Day (3)
A line of patients and family members waiting to check in for surgery.

By Tiffany Alongi, RN, PCCN
Trauma, Burn and Surgical Critical Care Units

Audrey Hepburn once said, “As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands- one for helping yourself, the other for helping others.”

As a young, fresh faced graduate I was thrilled to be starting my career in one of the most prominent and cutting edge hospitals in the country. The idea of nursing was something I had always dreamed of doing. However, the complexity of a true nursing position quickly became evident to me. Nursing is an action packed, fast paced, ‘roll with the punches’ type of position that many are ill-equipped for, but I loved everything about it. I was one of those rare people that when asked could honestly say, “I love my job.”

Alongi
Tiffany Alongi

Nonetheless, I had begun to feel a growing dissatisfaction. I acknowledged all that I had done here in the states and the impact I had made on some of my patients, but I began to wonder what else I could be doing.  I longed to spread my love for nursing beyond the walls of BWH. Rather than patients coming to me, I wanted to travel to them. I sought to employ my passion, empathy and knowledge on a more international scale in order to help treat patients around the world.

In November 2013, I embarked on a medical mission to Cajamarca, Peru, with an organization known as Medical Mission for Children. MMFC is a nonprofit volunteer based organization which travels to remote geographical locations in order to help children and young adults with the surgical repair of cleft lip and palate deformities, burn injuries, microtia and head or neck tumors. The focus of my mission was to repair cleft lips and palates and dental extractions. Continue reading “Nurse Shares “Eye-Opening” Experience in Cajamarca, Peru” →

Researchers Study Statin Use in India

Posted on by Amanda

Medications—along with diet, exercise, and smoking cessation—are a cornerstone of cardiovascular risk reduction. The use of statins, which are the medication of choice for prevention, has increased substantially in North America and Europe over the past three decades, and as a result, cholesterol levels and cardiovascular mortality have decreased.

But little is known about statin use in lower-income countries. BWH researchers recently conducted an observational study of statin use in India, which has the highest burden of cardiovascular disease among less-developed nations.

The researchers found that only a fraction of those eligible for a statin actually received the therapy, despite the wide variety of statins that are available to Indian consumers.

“Low rates of statin use in India may reflect problems with access to health care, affordability, under-diagnosis, and cultural beliefs,” said Niteesh Choudhry, MD, PhD, of the BWH Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacoeconomics, and lead author of the paper. “Because of the growing burden of cardiovascular disease in lower-income countries such as India, there is an urgent need to increase statin use and ensure access to safe products whose use is based on evidence.” Continue reading “Researchers Study Statin Use in India” →

Supporting Medical Education in Haiti

Posted on by Amanda
Berkowitz FDB 2012-2 (2)
Dr. Aaron Berkowitz joins Haitian physicians on rounds to assess a patient at Saint Boniface Hospital.

On Jan. 13, 2010, just one day after a devastating earthquake struck the island nation of Haiti, a group of BWH physicians huddled in the Department of Medicine’s Eppinger Conference Room to ask: What can we do to help?

One of them, Michelle Morse, MD, MPH, went to Haiti during her residency in Global Health Equity at BWH. After the earthquake, she met Zadok Sacks, MD, a resident at BWH and Boston Children’s Hospital.

“There was just an incredible energy among people here about doing something and making a contribution together,” said Sacks, who now runs the young adult consult service at Children’s.

Together, Sacks and Morse founded an organization called Physicians for Haiti, which supports the work being done around medical education in Haiti.

“Haiti is full of amazing health care professionals, and they deliver care without access to any of the resources that we have here-the network of colleagues, technology and equipment,” Sacks said. Continue reading “Supporting Medical Education in Haiti” →

Supporting Medical Education in Haiti

Posted on by Amanda
Berkowitz FDB 2012-2 (2)
Dr. Aaron Berkowitz joins Haitian physicians on rounds to assess a patient at Saint Boniface Hospital.

On Jan. 13, 2010, just one day after a devastating earthquake struck the island nation of Haiti, a group of BWH physicians huddled in the Department of Medicine’s Eppinger Conference Room to ask: What can we do to help?

One of them, Michelle Morse, MD, MPH, went to Haiti during her residency in Global Health Equity at BWH. After the earthquake, she met Zadok Sacks, MD, a resident at BWH and Boston Children’s Hospital.

“There was just an incredible energy among people here about doing something and making a contribution together,” said Sacks, who now runs the young adult consult service at Children’s.

Together, Sacks and Morse founded an organization called Physicians for Haiti, which supports the work being done around medical education in Haiti.

“Haiti is full of amazing health care professionals, and they deliver care without access to any of the resources that we have here-the network of colleagues, technology and equipment,” Sacks said. Continue reading “Supporting Medical Education in Haiti” →

Responding to Typhoon Haiyan

Posted on by Amanda
DAndrea_rural_health_unit
A rural health unit damaged by typhoon Yolanda.

 

By Shawn D’Andrea, MD
Attending Physician, BWH Emergency Medicine

The week before Thanksgiving, the disaster medicine section of the American College of Emergency Physicians(ACEP) circulated a request for physicians to participate in ongoing humanitarian relief operations in the Philippines in response to  typhoon Haiyan, also known as typhoon Yolanda. On Nov. 27, I arrived at Roxas City on the island of Panay, Philippines, to join a small group of physicians and nurses with a non-government organization engaged in relief efforts.

The group that had sent the request through ACEP, Remote Area Medical (RAM) is a small, all volunteer U.S. medical non-government organization which has functioned in several disaster settings and defines itself as an organization able to access and function in difficult-to-reach and austere settings.  Following typhoon Yolanda, the group partnered with the Philippine Red Cross and later a regional health department on Panay island to support medical needs in the relief effort.  When I arrived shortly before Thanksgiving, RAM, coordinating with the regional health department and other relief organizations, was performing daily missions to the rural areas of Panay island to provide direct medical care to patients in areas affected by the storm. While the regional health department has an extensive network of local health offices and clinics, the storm left the health infrastructure severely damaged.  The role of medical relief organizations, under the direction of the regional health authority, was to assess the health needs of communities following the disaster,  provide direct patient care during relief and recover phases of the disaster, and to provide ongoing disease surveillance. Continue reading “Responding to Typhoon Haiyan” →

Responding to Typhoon Haiyan

Posted on by Amanda
DAndrea_rural_health_unit
A rural health unit damaged by typhoon Yolanda.

 

By Shawn D’Andrea, MD
Attending Physician, BWH Emergency Medicine

The week before Thanksgiving, the disaster medicine section of the American College of Emergency Physicians(ACEP) circulated a request for physicians to participate in ongoing humanitarian relief operations in the Philippines in response to  typhoon Haiyan, also known as typhoon Yolanda. On Nov. 27, I arrived at Roxas City on the island of Panay, Philippines, to join a small group of physicians and nurses with a non-government organization engaged in relief efforts.

The group that had sent the request through ACEP, Remote Area Medical (RAM) is a small, all volunteer U.S. medical non-government organization which has functioned in several disaster settings and defines itself as an organization able to access and function in difficult-to-reach and austere settings.  Following typhoon Yolanda, the group partnered with the Philippine Red Cross and later a regional health department on Panay island to support medical needs in the relief effort.  When I arrived shortly before Thanksgiving, RAM, coordinating with the regional health department and other relief organizations, was performing daily missions to the rural areas of Panay island to provide direct medical care to patients in areas affected by the storm. While the regional health department has an extensive network of local health offices and clinics, the storm left the health infrastructure severely damaged.  The role of medical relief organizations, under the direction of the regional health authority, was to assess the health needs of communities following the disaster,  provide direct patient care during relief and recover phases of the disaster, and to provide ongoing disease surveillance. Continue reading “Responding to Typhoon Haiyan” →