Personalized fever measure to detect infection in older ICU patients
Official title: Re-evaluating assessment of temperature in critically ill older adults
Funded at Weill Medical Coll of Cornell Univ · NIH-11441427 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A study tests whether using a patient’s own temperature history is better at spotting infections in older adults in the ICU than a fixed fever threshold.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R21 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Weill Medical Coll of Cornell Univ NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (New York, United States) |
| Project start | September 16, 2026 |
| Project end | August 31, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $491,742 |
| NIH project number | 1R21AG103669-01 |
| Project ID | NIH-11441427 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults 21 years and older in ICU settings, especially older adults, whose infection status and temperature data are available.
✕Less likely to help
Patients whose infections do not cause measurable temperature changes or whose data are incomplete may not benefit.
What this research studies
This project looks at how we recognize infection in older adults being treated in intensive care. Instead of using a universal fever number, researchers will compare each patient’s usual temperature to their current readings to see if a personalized change better signals infection. They will use large medical data sources from TriNetX and two academic medical centers to model baseline temperatures and track temperature changes with care interventions. The goal is to improve early detection of sepsis and subsequent treatment for older patients.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, clinicians could detect infections earlier in older ICU patients by using personalized temperature changes, potentially saving lives.
How similar studies have gone: Prior work has explored temperature as a marker, but this study emphasizes personalized baselines and may be among the first to validate Δt as a clinical tool in the ICU.
Where this research is happening
-
Weill Medical Coll of Cornell Univ
New York, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Wunsch, Hannah — Weill Medical Coll of Cornell Univ
- Study coordinator: Wunsch, Hannah
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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.