Shorter 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-11403744 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This compares a shorter 7-day versus the usual 14-day antifungal treatment for children whose Candida blood infections have cleared after initial therapy.
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 | 3R01AI170385-04S2 |
| Project ID | NIH-11403744 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Children (typically pediatric age groups) with uncomplicated candidemia who have received at least 7 days of echinocandin therapy and have cleared blood cultures with clinical improvement would be the ideal candidates.
✕Less likely to help
Children with deep-seated Candida infections, persistent positive blood cultures, severe immunosuppression, or who have not improved after initial therapy are unlikely to benefit from a shortened course.
What this research studies
You would be cared for at a children's hospital participating in a multicenter trial where all patients start with echinocandin antifungal medicine. If your child's blood cultures clear and they are getting better after 7 days, the team will randomly assign them to stop treatment after 7 days total or continue to the usual 14-day course. Doctors will follow your child closely with clinic checks and tests to watch for relapse, side effects, and overall recovery. The trial aims to see whether stopping earlier is as safe and effective as continuing treatment.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, children could have shorter courses of antifungal medicine, with fewer side effects, less time on IV drugs, and lower treatment burden.
How similar studies have gone: Echinocandin therapy has been shown to improve outcomes as initial treatment and shorter antibiotic courses have worked for many bacterial infections, but there have been no randomized trials testing shorter versus standard duration for invasive fungal disease in children.
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
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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.