Decision support to reduce unnecessary antibiotics for children with lower respiratory infections
Reducing Overuse of Antibiotics with Decision Support: The ROADS Study
A computer-based tool will help emergency doctors decide when children with chest infections need antibiotics to cut down on unnecessary prescriptions.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Vanderbilt University Medical Center NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Nashville, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11262267 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
If your child comes to the emergency department with a cough, bronchiolitis, pneumonia, or asthma flare, clinicians at participating hospitals will use an electronic decision-support tool to guide antibiotic choices. The tool gives prompts and guideline-based recommendations inside the medical record so doctors can choose the right drug, dose, and duration. Researchers will track antibiotic prescriptions, side effects, return visits, and recovery to see whether using the tool leads to safer care. The work focuses on typical pediatric emergency visits and follows patients for outcomes after the visit.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Children seen in participating emergency departments for lower respiratory tract infections (like bronchiolitis, pneumonia, or asthma-related infections) whose caregivers agree to use of medical data and follow-up are ideal candidates.
Not a fit: Children with confirmed or clearly severe bacterial infections that require immediate antibiotics, or patients who do not seek care at participating hospitals, are unlikely to benefit directly from this project.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could mean fewer unnecessary antibiotics for children, which lowers side effects and helps slow antibiotic resistance.
How similar studies have performed: Hospital antimicrobial stewardship programs have reduced inappropriate antibiotic use, but decision-support tools in busy pediatric emergency departments have been less studied and show only modest prior results.
Where this research is happening
Nashville, United States
- Vanderbilt University Medical Center — Nashville, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Williams, Derek J. — Vanderbilt University Medical Center
- Study coordinator: Williams, Derek J.
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 below.