PantherCub: Procalcitonin guided management of paediatric FN
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Procalcitonin-guided Antibiotic Therapy for febrile neutropenia in children and young people with cancer. A single-arm pilot study
IRAS ID
279915
Contact name
Robert Phillips
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
ISRCTN Number
ISRCTN13185152
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 4 months, 22 days
Research summary
Treatment for childhood cancer can make children at increased risk of life-threatening infections, and when a fever occurs, children need to be admitted to hospital for antibiotics urgently to get on top of any severe infections quickly. This approach to treating ‘febrile neutropenia’ (FN) is very safe, meaning nearly all severe infections can be cured, but it also means that well children, who may just have a cold, get stuck in hospital for days until their temperature settles.
We have previously shown in our research that a blood test called procalcitonin (PCT) can help to show who has a severe infection. We’d now like to show that it’s safe to use this test to shorten the amount of time children spend on antibiotics.
Ideally we need to undertake a very large ‘supertanker’ of a study, with hundreds of children, half getting the PCT-test management and half not getting it, to test if this really makes a difference. In order to do this though, we need to firstly check that it is possible – that the patients, families and doctors will be prepared to take part in such a study. This is what this application is for; to undertake a pilot study, to make sure that the big ‘supertanker’ is feasible.
Our pilot study will work with 10-20 families who agree to have their FN managed this way. We will see if it possible to do the blood tests quickly, act on the results, and send children home. We will discuss with doctors, nurses, ANP (advanced nurse practitioners) and the families to hear about and understand their views on this way of managing infections. We will also look to see what proportion of people who might have been able to take part in the study agreed to do so. These findings will be used to work out whether the supertanker study is possible and how to do it well.
REC name
West Midlands - Black Country Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
20/WM/0205
Date of REC Opinion
28 Aug 2020
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion