Neonatal Quick Assays (NeoQUACK)
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Neonatal Quick Assays (NeoQUACK)
IRAS ID
352977
Contact name
Janet Berrington
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
NUTH
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 11 months, 28 days
Research summary
We wish to explore targeted testing in neonatal intensive care to help decision making around best management of an unwell baby. The tests we explore will be currently or potentially deliverable using point of care test (POCT) – these give rapid answers to clinical teams. We will use targeted sampling of blood, urine, stool or saliva over the first hours and days after a baby becomes unwell to see how different tests might help teams when management decisions are being made. These include decisions around antibiotic duration, pausing or restarting milk feeds, and types and amounts of fluids and intravenous feeds being given. We have chosen POCT based on what is already known about sick babies but are not yet used as part of normal care. The POCT results will not be shared with the clinical team and will not change care delivered. We will explore whether they perform well enough to help guide management decisions like stopping or re-starting feeds, stopping, reducing or re-starting intravenous nutrition, duration of antibiotics etc. We will also examine illness scores and how they correlate with POCT. We will also explore how clinical teams currently make decisions and how they would ‘value’ additional POCT information. The study is being undertaken as a higher degree (MD) by a medical doctor. The findings will help inform the design of a future study where clinicians would be given the results in real time to guide decision making.
REC name
North East - Newcastle & North Tyneside 1 Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
25/NE/0021
Date of REC Opinion
24 Feb 2025
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion