Assessment of the impact of a new sequential approach to antimicrobial use in young febrile children in the emergency department (DIAFEVERCHILD): a French prospective multicentric controlled, open, cluster-randomised, parallel-group study protocol.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Fever is one of the most common reasons for consultation in the paediatric emergency department (ED). Because of fear of bacterial infection in parents and caregivers, clinicians often overprescribe laboratory tests and empirical antibiotic treatment. The aims of this study are to demonstrate that using a procalcitonin (PCT) rapid test-based prediction rule (1) would not be inferior to usual practice in terms of morbidity and mortality (non-inferiority objective) and (2) would result in a significant reduction in antibiotic use (superiority objective).

Methods and analysis

This prospective multicentric cluster-randomised study aims to include 7245 febrile children aged 6 days to 3 years with a diagnosis of fever without source in 26 participating EDs in France a

SUBMITTER: Hubert G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7430445 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature