CTSA Program Impact

From the 1990s to today, a growing number of babies are exposed to an opioid before birth and have withdrawal soon after, a condition called neonatal abstinence syndrome. They have painful symptoms and may need to be in the hospital for weeks. Before 2017, there was no research on which medicines best calm these babies. When Dr. Jonathan Davis and his team set out to change that, Tufts Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) helped by designing a clinical trial and analyzing data from many hospitals. Results showed that a different medicine (methadone)--not the one used most often (morphine)--led to fewer days of treatment and shorter hospital stays. This became part of the American Academy of Pediatrics treatment guidelines. Tufts CTSI also assisted Dr. Davis as he worked to change research rules and laws to solve barriers to doing the study. This led Dr. Davis to take part in developing best practices for including newborns in health research that guide today’s studies.