Short versus standard antifungal treatment for children with Candida bloodstream infections
Official title: Short Course Versus Standard Course Antifungal Therapy for Pediatric Candidemia: A Multi-Center Randomized Controlled Trial
Funded at Arkansas Children's Hospital Res Inst · NIH-11403748 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This trial compares a shorter antifungal course to the usual 14-day course for children with Candida in the blood who improve after the first week of echinocandin treatment.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Arkansas Children's Hospital Res Inst NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Little Rock, United States) |
| Project start | August 5, 2022 |
| Project end | July 31, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $28,350 |
| NIH project number | 3R01AI170385-04S6 |
| Project ID | NIH-11403748 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Children with uncomplicated candidemia who were initially treated with an echinocandin and show clinical improvement with cleared blood cultures after seven days are the ideal candidates.
✕Less likely to help
Children with persistent positive blood cultures, deep-seated Candida infections, or other complications (for example endocarditis or central nervous system involvement) are not likely to benefit from a shorter course and would be excluded.
What this research studies
If your child has Candida in the blood and gets better after seven days of echinocandin therapy with cleared blood cultures, doctors would randomly assign them to stop treatment sooner or continue to the standard 14 days. The trial is being run at multiple pediatric centers and follows children after treatment to watch for recurrence, complications, or side effects. Study staff will collect clinical data and monitor outcomes to see whether the shorter approach is as safe and effective as the longer course. Participation would include regular check-ins and follow-up visits to make sure the infection does not return.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could safely shorten antifungal treatment time, lowering side effects, hospital stays, and costs for children.
How similar studies have gone: Adult randomized trials and pediatric observational data support echinocandin initial therapy and many antibacterial trials show shorter courses can work, but there have been no prior randomized trials comparing short versus standard durations for invasive fungal infections.
Where this research is happening
-
Arkansas Children's Hospital Res Inst
Little Rock, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Steinbach, William J — Arkansas Children's Hospital Res Inst
- Study coordinator: Steinbach, William J
Related research
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Shorter antifungal treatment for kids with candidemia
A multi-center pediatric trial tests whether a shorter, 7 extra days of antifungal therapy after an initial 7 days is just as good as the standard 14-day approach for kids with candidemia who are improving on echinocandin therapy.
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Short Course vs Standard Course Antifungal Therapy for Pediatric Candidemia
This study tests whether a shorter 7-day total antifungal treatment after an initial 7 days of echinocandin therapy is as effective as the usual 14-day course for children with candidemia.
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Shorter antifungal treatment for kids with candidemia
A multi-center study tests whether kids with candidemia can finish treatment earlier after an initial week of antifungal therapy than the standard two weeks total.
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Shorter antifungal treatment for kids with candidemia
This study tests whether children with candidemia can finish treatment after 7 days of an echinocandin if they are improving, instead of completing a full 14 days.
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Shorter antifungal course for kids with candidemia
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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.