Personalized epinephrine dosing for children during in-hospital cardiac arrest
Official title: Physiology-directed Epinephrine Dosing in Pediatric Cardiac Arrest (PEDICA)
Funded at Children's Hosp of Philadelphia · NIH-11115712 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project gives epinephrine doses based on a child's blood pressure during in-hospital cardiac arrest to try to help doctors restart the heart in children.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Children's Hosp of Philadelphia NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Philadelphia, United States) |
| Project start | July 1, 2024 |
| Project end | June 30, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $795,410 |
| NIH project number | 5R01HL175433-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11115712 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Children 0–11 years old who experience in-hospital cardiac arrest and receive CPR with arterial blood pressure monitoring would be the intended participants.
✕Less likely to help
This would not apply to out-of-hospital cardiac arrests, adults, or situations where arterial blood pressure cannot be monitored during CPR.
What this research studies
If your child has a cardiac arrest in the hospital, doctors would use real-time blood pressure readings during CPR to guide how much epinephrine to give. The team will track each child's diastolic blood pressure response to doses and use that physiology to choose personalized dosing rather than a single standard dose for everyone. They will compare outcomes such as whether the heart restarts (return of spontaneous circulation) and survival to hospital discharge. The approach builds on earlier data showing varied blood pressure responses and aims to find dosing that improves outcomes for children.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this approach could increase the chances of restarting the heart and surviving to hospital discharge by tailoring epinephrine to a child's physiology.
How similar studies have gone: Early laboratory work and a 2023 clinical study showed variable blood pressure responses to epinephrine and linked larger increases to better immediate outcomes, so this builds on promising but not yet definitive data.
Where this research is happening
-
Children's Hosp of Philadelphia
Philadelphia, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Morgan, Ryan William — Children's Hosp of Philadelphia
- Study coordinator: Morgan, Ryan William
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
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Multi-center study on how ventilation during CPR relates to cardiac arrest outcomes
A large, real-world study will look at how ventilation during CPR affects survival after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in adults.
-
Specialized post-arrest care after cardiac arrest
A large, nationwide effort tests whether transferring cardiac arrest patients to a specialized post-arrest care center improves recovery compared with usual care.
-
Reduce bias in predicting brain recovery after cardiac arrest
This project aims to make brain-recovery predictions more accurate for people who survive cardiac arrest by comparing outcomes between the United States and Brazil.
-
Fairer brain recovery predictions after cardiac arrest through U.S.–Brazil collaboration
This project aims to find better ways to predict brain recovery for people who survive cardiac arrest but have possible brain injury.
-
Improving predictions of brain recovery after cardiac arrest
This project compares outcomes after cardiac arrest in the U.S. and Brazil to learn which tests best predict who will regain brain function for people who survive cardiac arrest.
-
Reducing biased predictions of brain recovery after cardiac arrest
This project looks at cardiac arrest survivors in the US and Brazil to find more accurate ways to predict brain recovery and avoid premature stopping of life support.
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.