Quicker emergency pain care for children with sickle cell disease
Sickle Cell Improvement: ENhancing Care in the Emergency Department (SCIENCE)
['FUNDING_U01'] · NEMOURS CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL, DELAWARE · NIH-11142406
This project is testing a clear emergency care plan to speed up pain relief for children with sickle cell disease when they come to the emergency department.
Quick facts
| Phase | ['FUNDING_U01'] |
|---|---|
| Study type | Nih_funding |
| Sex | All |
| Sponsor | NEMOURS CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL, DELAWARE (nih funded) |
| Locations | 1 site (WILMINGTON, UNITED STATES) |
| Trial ID | NIH-11142406 on ClinicalTrials.gov |
What this research studies
If your child with sickle cell disease comes to a participating emergency department with a painful crisis, hospitals would follow a step-by-step care pathway designed to get pain medicines and other treatments started faster. The team is using several implementation strategies (like staff training, workflow changes, and tracking systems) to help emergency departments adopt the guideline-based pathway. Researchers will measure how many children the pathway reaches, how widely EDs adopt it, and how well the pathway is carried out in real cases. The goal is to make guideline-recommended care happen reliably during acute pain visits.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Children with sickle cell disease who present to a participating emergency department with an acute painful vaso-occlusive crisis are the intended participants.
Not a fit: Adults, people without sickle cell disease, or children seen outside participating emergency departments are unlikely to be helped by this project.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could mean quicker pain relief, fewer hospital stays, and better quality of life for children with sickle cell pain crises.
How similar studies have performed: Guideline-based protocols and targeted quality-improvement efforts have improved timely pain treatment in some settings, but broad adoption in emergency departments has been limited and this project focuses on spreading those practices.
Where this research is happening
WILMINGTON, UNITED STATES
- NEMOURS CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL, DELAWARE — WILMINGTON, UNITED STATES (ACTIVE)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: BROUSSEAU, DAVID C — NEMOURS CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL, DELAWARE
- Study coordinator: BROUSSEAU, DAVID C
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.