Study evaluating antibiotic use in kids with VUR seeks participants

Researchers conducting a study to learn whether children with vesicoureteral reflux should be treated with an extended course of antibiotics are seeking to enroll more participants.

The Randomized Intervention for Children with Vesicoureteral Reflux study (RIVUR) is funded by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. VUR is found in 30% to 50% of children with urinary tract infections, and is thought to increase the risk of kidney damage in children with recurring UTIs.

Researchers seek to enroll 600 participants between the ages of 2 months and 6 years who have had their first or second UTI within 10 weeks or 112 days of study enrollment. So far, 125 infants and children have joined the study. With the approval of 20 institutional review boards and an external data safety monitoring board charged with overseeing the safety of children in the trial, each participant will receive a daily dose of an antibiotic or a placebo for up to 2 years.

Children who develop recurring fever or other symptoms of infection or scar tissue buildup in the kidneys will be switched from the study to routine antibiotic care and referred to a urologist, depending on the number of infections and degree of renal scarring.

“The study has the potential to help us understand how to provide the best care for tens of thousands of children diagnosed every year with this condition,” said Marva Moxey-Mims, MD, of NIDDK.

Study information is available at http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00405704?term= RIVUR&rank=1.