Shorter antifungal treatment for children with Candida bloodstream infection
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-11403743 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This compares a shorter (7-day) versus the usual 14-day antifungal course for children whose blood cultures for Candida have cleared after initial 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 | 3R01AI170385-04S1 |
| Project ID | NIH-11403743 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Children with uncomplicated candidemia who started echinocandin therapy and have cleared their blood cultures and clinically improved after 7 days are the ideal candidates.
✕Less likely to help
Children with complicated invasive fungal disease (for example, deep-organ involvement, persistent positive blood cultures, or lack of clinical improvement) are unlikely to be eligible or to benefit from a shorter course.
What this research studies
If your child has Candida in the blood and starts on an echinocandin antifungal and shows clinical improvement with cleared blood cultures after 7 days, they could be randomly placed into either a short-course group or the standard 14-day group. Doctors at multiple pediatric hospitals will follow children for recurrence, complications, and side effects after treatment. The trial uses random assignment to directly compare outcomes between the shorter and standard courses. Study staff will track safety and whether infections come back after stopping therapy.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, children may safely receive a shorter antifungal course, reducing drug side effects, IV use, and time in the hospital.
How similar studies have gone: Echinocandins have shown benefit in adult randomized trials and pediatric observational studies, and shorter antibiotic courses work for many bacterial infections, but no randomized trial has yet tested shorter versus standard duration for invasive fungal infections in children.
Where this research is happening
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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
A multi-center study tests whether 7 extra days of antifungal therapy after an initial week of treatment can be shortened safely for children with candidemia.
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.