Better tools for managing diarrhea in children
Official title: Development of clinical decision tools for management of diarrhea of children in high and low resource settings
Funded at Utah State Higher Education System--University of Utah · NIH-11084404 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project creates new digital tools to help doctors make better decisions about treating diarrhea in children, both in places with many resources and those with few.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Utah State Higher Education System--University of Utah NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Salt Lake City, United States) |
| Project start | May 8, 2018 |
| Project end | May 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $911,046 |
| NIH project number | 4R01AI135114-08 |
| Project ID | NIH-11084404 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
This research is relevant to children aged 0-11 years who experience acute diarrhea, particularly those seen in emergency departments or ambulatory care facilities.
✕Less likely to help
Patients whose diarrhea is not related to the types of conditions or settings addressed by these decision tools may not directly benefit from this specific research.
What this research studies
Diarrhea is a major health concern for children worldwide, leading to many deaths in low-income countries and significant healthcare use in high-income areas. While rehydration is key, antibiotics are often overused because doctors frequently guess at the cause of diarrhea. This project aims to improve how we predict the cause of diarrhea by including information beyond just a child's symptoms, like local climate and past patient data. We are developing an electronic tool that can estimate the cause of diarrhea, which could help reduce unnecessary antibiotic prescriptions. This work seeks to provide healthcare providers with more accurate guidance for treatment.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could lead to more accurate diagnosis and treatment of diarrhea in children, potentially reducing unnecessary antibiotic use and improving health outcomes.
How similar studies have gone: Preliminary data suggests that integrating patient-extrinsic data can improve prediction models and that electronic decision-support tools can decrease antibiotic prescription rates.
Where this research is happening
-
Utah State Higher Education System--University of Utah
Salt Lake City, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Leung, Daniel Ted — Utah State Higher Education System--University of Utah
- Study coordinator: Leung, Daniel Ted
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
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PediCODE: A Biorepository and Consortium for CoDE - Congenital Diarrhea and Enteropathy
A nationwide effort to collect clinical data and patient-derived samples to uncover the genetic causes of congenital diarrhea and enteropathy and to build a resource that helps researchers study these diseases.
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PediCODE Consortium and Biobank for Congenital Diarrhea and Enteropathy
Creating a multi-center team and biobank to find genetic causes of congenital diarrhea and enteropathy in children and collect samples that can help future research.
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Mobile health tool to guide dehydration care for acute diarrhea across all ages
A mobile app uses AI to help people of all ages determine dehydration risk during acute diarrhea and guide rehydration decisions.
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Understanding how certain gut bacteria cause diarrhea in children and how it works in the gut lining
This project looks at how infections from ETEC and EPEC bacteria cause diarrhea, especially in children, and uses a mouse model and human-derived gut cell systems to uncover the underlying mechanisms.
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Aimed at helping people with cystic fibrosis and older adults who have chronic constipation by studying a gut transporter to improve intestinal fluid balance.
-
Targeting gut drug processing to prevent diarrhea from mycophenolate
This project tests whether using natural gut-acting compounds to boost a specific drug-clearing pathway in the lower intestine can reduce diarrhea caused by the transplant drug mycophenolate in people who take it.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.