ARTIC PC
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Antibiotics for lower Respiratory Tract Infection in Children presenting in Primary Care
IRAS ID
170716
Contact name
D Galpin
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Southampton
Eudract number
2015-002455-97
ISRCTN Number
ISRCTN79914298
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
13381, Sponsor Reference
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 11 months, 31 days
Research summary
Chest infections are one of the commonest infections managed in children seen in primary care. Most children who see the doctor with a chest infection currently get antibiotics. The trouble with prescribing antibiotics for most children is that we are using these medicines too much. This in turn is causing bacteria to become resistant, which is likely to lead in the future to serious infections for our children. The groups of children that are even more likely to get antibiotics at the moment are those who have one or more particular features - phlegm, fever, shortness of breath, or rattly noises heard in the chest when the doctor listens with the stethoscope. It is a real priority to show which groups of children that GPs prescribe for currently benefit and which do not, so that antibiotics can be targeted appropriately and the effectiveness of antibiotics can be conserved for future generations.
The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) is funding our research. We hope to recruit participants from local general practices across the south. Participant recruitment will be done by a healthcare professional appropriately trained in the study procedures and GCP. They will gain consent for each child to take part in the study from a parent or guardian. The healthcare professional will then record some details about the child’s illness. An optional blood sample, throat swab, simple measure of blood oxygen and x-ray will be taken from each participant. Each child will be allocated study medication, which may contain the antibiotic (amoxicillin) or a placebo. Parents and guardians will be asked to give children one dose of medication three times a day for seven days and to fill in a study diary.
A sub set of 15-20 individuals will be asked to take part in interviews. Semi-structured in-depth interviews will be used, but will be flexible to permit parents to speak freely on topics they deem to be relevant to ensure key emerging issues are captured.
REC name
South West - Central Bristol Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
15/SW/0300
Date of REC Opinion
21 Mar 2016
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion