PCT Guided Stopping of Antibiotic Therapy in Children With Sepsis

February 27, 2025 updated by: Jhuma Sankar, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi

Procalcitonin Level Guided Cessation of Antibiotic Therapy in Children With Sepsis: A Randomized Controlled Trial

The investigators' objective is to compare the risk of treatment failure* in children admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) with sepsis and managed by procalcitonin guided therapy for stopping of antibiotics ('PCT- guided therapy' group) with those managed with standard practices based on the evidence based guidelines ('control' group).

Children with suspected or proven sepsis will be randomized to the PCT guided group or the standard practices group and will be followed up for the outcome measures that include treatment failure and mortality. The investigators plan to enroll 560 patients over a period of 3 years. The investigators believe that the proposed study will provide the answer to reducing unnecessary antibiotic usage in the PICU without causing any harm to the patient in the form of treatment failure and/or mortality.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

Sepsis and bacterial infections account for more than 50% of and intensive care (ICU) admissions and the mortality rates are as high as 40-60% reported in various studies. Although, antibiotics are crucial in deciding outcomes in children with sepsis, however, use of the same in non-infectious conditions has resulted in emergence of multi drug resistant strains with high morbidity and mortality. The number of deaths from antibiotic resistant bacteria is 700000 worldwide. A major driver for development of multi drug resistant bacteria is antibiotic use. This indiscriminate use is much more pronounced in the ICUs with observations from various studies indicating that 30% to 60% of antibiotics prescribed in ICUs are unnecessary, inappropriate, or suboptimal. This is because of two major reasons a) illness severity and b) difficulty in distinguishing true sepsis from other causes of SIRS. In order to address these problems, researchers have tried to explore the use of novel biomarkers to improve the accuracy, early diagnosis and stopping of antibiotic therapy of sepsis. One such marker that is widely studied is procalcitonin (PCT). Several studies and meta-analyses have demonstrated that PCT has excellent diagnostic accuracy for sepsis and has a potential role in de-escalating antibiotic therapy in adult patients. Unfortunately, there are only few observational studies and two RCT's in children published till date evaluating the use of PCT for diagnosis of infections or de-escalation of antibiotic therapy. Moreover, till date, there are no studies in critically ill children with sepsis who are faced with the problem of multidrug resistant infections and have the worst outcomes. Given this background, the investigators plan to conduct this pragmatic randomized controlled trial in children with sepsis admitted to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) and already on antibiotics. The investigators' objective is to compare the risk of treatment failure in children admitted to the PICU with sepsis and managed by PCT guided therapy for stopping of antibiotics ('study' group) with those managed with 'standard practices' based on the evidence based guidelines ('control' group). Children with suspected or proven sepsis will be randomized to the PCT guided group or the standard practices group and will be followed up for the outcome measures that include treatment failure and mortality. The investigators' would also be comparing the duration of antibiotic therapy between the two groups as secondary outcome measures. The investigators plan to enroll 560 patients over a period of 3 years. The investigators believe that the proposed study will provide the answer to reducing unnecessary antibiotic usage in the PICU without causing any harm to the patient in the form of treatment failure and/or mortality. The investigators also believe that in due course of time, over the years, with restricted antibiotic usage, the issue of multi-drug resistant microbial infections in the PICU will be addressed.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
561

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • India
      • Chandigarh, India
        • PGIMER
    • Karnataka
      • Bengaluru, Karnataka, India, 560034
        • St Johns Medical College and Hospital

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

2 months to 17 years (Child)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Children 2 month to 17 years admitted to the ICU and already receiving antibiotics for suspected or proven sepsis (defined as systemic inflammatory response syndrome or SIRS due to infection) and children who are started on antibiotics in the ICU for suspected or proven sepsis will be included.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Children receiving antibiotics more than 24 hours before presentation
  • Children with severe immunosuppression (CD4 count of less than 200 cells/mm3, neutropenic patients (<500 neutrophils/ml)) other than corticosteroid use
  • Children admitted for post-op observation
  • Children with an estimated length of stay less than 24 hrs
  • Children with underlying co-morbidities with possible imminent death
  • Children whose parents refuse to give an informed consent

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Double

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: PCT group
Behavioral: PCT group
In this group antibiotic therapy will be stopped based on serial PCT measurements starting from admission.
No Intervention: Standard practice group
No intervention

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Treatment failure
Time Frame: From day of stopping first course of antibiotic therapy till day 7 after stopping antibiotics
The primary outcome measure would be treatment failure* (defined as growth of one or more of the initial causative organism(s) from a second sample taken within 48 hours after stopping antibiotics and/ or clinical signs or symptoms of infection) within 7 days of stoppage of antibiotics.
From day of stopping first course of antibiotic therapy till day 7 after stopping antibiotics

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Proportion clinically cured
Time Frame: From day of stopping first course of antibiotic therapy till day 7 of stopping therapy
Proportion clinically cured after the first antibiotic course
From day of stopping first course of antibiotic therapy till day 7 of stopping therapy
Antibiotic free days
Time Frame: Till day 28 of hospital stay
Total number of days the patients are not on antibiotics
Till day 28 of hospital stay
Mortality
Time Frame: Till death or day 28 whichever is earlier
Death in ICU or hospital
Till death or day 28 whichever is earlier

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhubaneswar
Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh
St Johns Medical College Hospital, Bangalore, India

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Study Chair: S K Kabra, MD, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

Helpful Links

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
October 21, 2019

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
February 28, 2023

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
February 28, 2023

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
August 18, 2017

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
December 25, 2017

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
January 3, 2018

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
March 25, 2025

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
February 27, 2025

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
February 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • IEC-531/11.11.2016

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

Clinical Trials on Sepsis

Clinical Trials on PCT group

Search Similar Trials

Sponsors and Collaborators

Medical Conditions

Drug Interventions

Conditions

Rare Diseases

Drug Interventions

Dietary Supplements

Sponsor/Collaborators

Locations

Cookie Settings

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. For more details carefully read our Privacy and Cookies Policy. ...>>>You can change your preferences or withdraw your consent at any time by deleting the cookies from your website or computer as described in the policy. Please accept it and choose your preferences by ticking the corresponding boxes in the "Manage Settings" section below. Please carefully read our Terms of Service before you proceed with using any part of this website.
«Manage Settings