This is a multi- centre trial of children with bone and joint infections (BJIs) at eight major paediatric hospitals in Australia and New Zealand. The primary objective is to establish if in children with acute, uncomplicated BJIs, entirely oral antibiotic treatment is not inferior to initial intravenous (IV) treatment for 1 to 7 days followed by an oral antibiotic course in achieving full recovery 3 months after presentation. Children will be randomly allocated to the 'entirely oral antibiotic' group or the 'standard treatment' group.
Children with acute onset BJIs who present to the participating sites will be enrolled into the trial if eligible (see eligibility criteria) and randomly allocated into two groups. Children in the 'standard treatment group' will receive standard treatment for BJIs, which consists of IV antibiotics for 1-7 days followed by 3 weeks of oral antibiotics. Children in the 'entirely oral treatment group' will receive high dose oral antibiotics, followed by the standard dose of oral antibiotics for 3 weeks. The outcomes of children in each of the two groups will be compared to determine whether BJIs can be treated without needing a course of IV antibiotics.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
285
High-dose oral cefalexin
Standard therapy of IV cefazolin or IV flucloxacillin followed by high dose oral cefalexin
Nepean Hospital
Kingswood, New South Wales, Australia
RECRUITINGJohn Hunter Children's Hospital
New Lambton Heights, New South Wales, Australia
RECRUITINGSydney Children's Hospital Network
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
RECRUITINGThe Children's Hospital at Westmead
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITINGRoyal Darwin Hospital
Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia
RECRUITINGQueensland Children's Hospital
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
RECRUITINGWomen's and Children's Hospital
Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
RECRUITINGThe Royal Children's Hospital
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
RECRUITINGPerth Children's Hospital
Perth, Western Australia, Australia
RECRUITINGChristchurch Hospital
Christchurch, New Zealand
RECRUITINGProportion of children assessed as having made a full recovery 3 months
Full recovery is defined by the absence of: (i) Clinical features of osteomyelitis or septic arthritis (ii) No episodes of disease recurrence requiring further antibiotic administration after initial treatment. Assessment made by a qualified paediatrician.
Time frame: 3 months
Proportion of children with with recurrent disease at 6 months.
Proportion of children with recurrence of symptoms and signs after initial recovery requiring further antibiotic administration assessed at 3 months by an independent committee.
Time frame: 6 months
Proportion of children with with recurrent disease at 12 months.
Proportion of children with recurrence of symptoms and signs after initial recovery requiring further antibiotic administration assessed at 12 months by an independent committee.
Time frame: 12 months
Proportion of children with complications of their disease at 3 months.
Complications assessed by an independent committee defined as: (i) residual dysfunction (ii) pain
Time frame: 3 months
Proportion of children with complications of their disease at 12 months.
Complications assessed by an independent committee defined as: (i) residual poor function (ii) bone death (osteonecrosis) (iii) pain (iv) growth arrest (v) limb deformity
Time frame: 12 months
Proportion of children with treatment-related adverse effects (AEs).
Adverse effects assessed between days 1-7 including: (i) Complications of IV access (eg need for replacement, infection, extravasation, drug side effects); or (ii) high-dose oral antibiotics (eg. drug side effects, inability to tolerate the full dose) It will be assessed between day 1-7 (can be at any time during the admission while intravenous antibiotics are prescribed)
Time frame: Between Day 1-7
Quality of life - Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL) 3 months
PedsQL is an acronym for the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory. This inventory includes 23 items each scored 0 to 5 . The minimum score is 0 and the maximum score is 92. Lower scores indicate better quality of life. Outcome measures will be reported as median (range).
Time frame: 3 months
Quality of life - Child Health Utility Scale (CHU9D) Day 8-14
CHU9D is an acronym for the Child Health Utility scale. It includes 9 domains scored 0 to 5. The minimum score is 0 and the maximum is 5. The minimum score is 0 and the maximum is 45. Lower scores indicate better quality of life. Outcome measures will be reported as median (range). It will be administered once, and completed any day between Day 8 to Day 14.
Time frame: Once between Day 8 to Day 14
Quality of life - Child Health Utility Scale (CHU9D) 12 months
CHU9D is an acronym for the Child Health Utility scale. It includes 9 domains scored 0 to 5. The minimum score is 0 and the maximum is 5. The minimum score is 0 and the maximum is 45. Lower scores indicate better quality of life. Outcome measures will be reported as median (range)
Time frame: 12 months
Quality of life - EQ-5d Day 8-14
EQ-5D is an acronym for the European Quality of Life Five Dimension, it is an instrument which evaluates the generic quality of life. It is a descriptive system with one question for each of the five dimensions that include mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain/discomfort, and anxiety/depression. Outcome measures will be reported as median (range). It will be administered once, and completed any day between Day 8 to Day 14.
Time frame: Once between Day 8 to Day 14
Cost effectiveness - cost-effectiveness ratio of all resources at 12 months
The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio will be determined for both arms of the trial. This is a summary measure representing the economic value of the intervention (oral cefalexin), compared with the alternative (IV cefazolin followed by oral cefalexin). Estimated total sum of all hospital and patient/family resources required per patient per treatment course (AUD) collected by the study team at each study visit using a standard questionnaire (e.g. clinical services, medication, hospital and family accommodation, travelling, loss of income, care arrangements for family members). The mean total cost per treatment cost (AUD) will be reported for each arm of the trial.
Time frame: 12 months
Treatment adherence - medication reconciliation at 3 weeks
Mean percentage of cefalexin doses taken determined by medication reconciliation (ie. return of any remaining cefalexin) at end of treatment (3 weeks) assessed by the study team/trial pharmacist
Time frame: Week 3
Treatment adherence - Medication Adherence Response Scale at 3 weeks
Outcome will be reported as median adherence score (range 5-25).
Time frame: Week 3
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