The Utility and Feasibility of Accessible Diarrhea Etiology Prediction Tool (ADEPT) in an Informal Healthcare Setting

NCT07538531 | Not Yet Recruiting

• 2 other identifiers: IRB_00158579R33HD109819-04
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 30
• Locations: 0 countries
• Sites: N/A

Brief Summary

Diarrheal disease remains a leading cause of morbidity and mortality for children under 5 globally. Accepted best practice for managing diarrhea in the absence of blood or suspicion of cholera is rehydration, however in resource poor areas antibiotics are still prescribed at high rates due to pressures such as financial incentives, caregiver expectations, and diagnostic uncertainty. Informal healthcare providers often serve as first point of care for pediatric diarrhea patients in low- and middle- income countries (LMICs) and commonly prescribe antibiotics for pediatric diarrhea at high frequencies. In this pilot before-after feasibility trial informally trained healthcare providers will use a mobile phone-based application (Accessible Diarrhea Etiology Prediction Tool, ADEPT) which will allow for the exploration of the acceptability, feasibility, and utility of the tool, as well as ADEPTs ability to decrease inappropriate antibiotic prescribing practices.

Conditions

Diarrhea Infectious; Algorithms; Decision Support Systems, Clinical; Clinical Decision-making

Keywords

Diarrhea; Treatment Algorithm; mHealth; Antimicrobial stewardship

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Proportion of pediatric diarrhea encounters resulting in antibiotic prescription

  By self-report, before vs after ADEPT implementation

  6 weeks

Study Arms (1)

Experimental: Diarrheal assessment with ADEPT, mobile phone tool

EXPERIMENTAL

Diagnostic Test: Diagnostic test: Accessible Diarrhea Etiology Prediction Tool (ADEPT)

Interventions

Diagnostic test: Accessible Diarrhea Etiology Prediction Tool (ADEPT) DIAGNOSTIC_TEST

The ADEPT tool allows providers to input information about pediatric diarrhea patients and provides outputs related to dehydration management and potential treatment.

Experimental: Diarrheal assessment with ADEPT, mobile phone tool

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Village Doctor with antibiotic prescribing authority for children presenting with diarrheal illness
• Practice in trial location subdistrict
• Self-report treating a minimum of 5 pediatric diarrhea cases per week
• Willing to participate in ADEPT training, use ADEPT in clinical practice with pediatric diarrhea patients, and to collect, via an electronic tool, data on patient characteristics and clinical management

You may not qualify if:

• \- Planning to leave study site prior to completion of study

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Daniel Leung: lead
• Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD): collaborator
• International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh: collaborator

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Dysentery; Diarrhea

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Gastroenteritis; Gastrointestinal Diseases; Digestive System Diseases; Intestinal Diseases; Signs and Symptoms, Digestive; Signs and Symptoms; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: NA
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: DIAGNOSTIC
• Intervention Model: SINGLE GROUP
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Professor of Internal Medicine

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: April 13, 2026
• First Posted: April 20, 2026
• Study Start: April 12, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): June 30, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): June 30, 2026
• Last Updated: April 20, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-04

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share