Providing weight-based prescriptions for fever medicine to reduce emergency department return visits for young children.
Official title: Prescription Antipyretics to Decrease Unscheduled Return Visits In A Pediatric Emergency Department
Run by University of Texas at Austin · NCT07074912 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This will test if giving caregivers weight-based prescriptions for acetaminophen and ibuprofen to children aged 6 to 35 months when they leave the ED reduces unscheduled return visits within one week.
Quick facts
| Study type | Interventional |
|---|---|
| Ages | 6 Months to 36 Months |
| Sex | All |
| Enrollment | 440 (estimated) |
| Sponsor | University of Texas at Austin Academic / other |
| Locations | 1 site (Austin, Texas) |
| Status | Recruiting |
| Started | December 15, 2024 |
| Main results expected | December 31, 2025 |
| Study ends | March 15, 2026 |
| Registry record updated | July 20, 2025 |
| Trial ID | NCT07074912 on ClinicalTrials.gov |
Is this trial a fit for you?
✓Likely a good fit
Children aged 6 to less than 36 months evaluated for fever in the Dell Children's Medical Center ED who are discharged home and have caregivers fluent in English or Spanish are the intended participants.
✕Probably not a fit
Children who are admitted, have allergies or contraindications to acetaminophen or ibuprofen, present with other painful conditions, or whose caregivers already request antipyretic prescriptions are unlikely to benefit from the intervention.
A plain-English reading of the study's rules. Only the study team can confirm whether you qualify.
What this trial studies
Unscheduled return visits for fever add burden to families and emergency departments, and dosing confusion may lead caregivers to return for unresolved fever. This is a single-center randomized controlled trial in a pediatric ED that randomizes eligible children to receive either weight-based prescriptions for acetaminophen and ibuprofen or standard discharge instructions. The intervention provides explicit, weight-based dosing prescriptions for both antipyretics while the control arm receives usual care. The primary outcome is the rate of unscheduled return visits for the same complaint within one week after discharge.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could reduce short-term return visits to the emergency department and lower caregiver uncertainty about correct fever dosing.
How similar studies have gone: There are no published studies specifically testing whether prescribed, weight-based antipyretics reduce return ED visits, so this approach is largely untested.
Who can join: the full rules
Show full inclusion / exclusion criteria
Inclusion Criteria: * Children 6 to \< 36 months of age being discharged home from Dell Children's Medical Center emergency department who are evaluated for fever * Caregiver fluent in English or Spanish Exclusion Criteria: * Previous enrollment in this study * Patient admitted to hospital * Parental request for a prescription for acetaminophen and/or ibuprofen * Trauma patient * Orthopedic complaint * Other painful indication for acetaminophen or ibuprofen * Acetaminophen or ibuprofen prescribed for anything other than fever * Allergy or another contraindication to acetaminophen or ibuprofen * Parent and patient unlikely to follow up in the region (i.e., lives out of state)
Where it's running
-
Dell Children's Medical Center
Austin, Texas, United States Recruiting
Study contacts
- Study coordinator: Lina Palomares, RN, LMSW
- Email: lina.palomares@austin.utexas.edu
- Phone: 512-660-7792
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How to take part
- Review the eligibility criteria above with your treating physician.
- Check the official listing on ClinicalTrials.gov for the latest contact details and recruitment status.
- Contact the study coordinator or principal investigator to ask for pre-screening. Pre-screening is free and never obligates you to enroll.