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Active, not recruitingNCT04554108POOMAUpdated Nov 10, 2026

Acute Non-severe Osteomyelitis in Children - Outpatient Management Strategy With Oral Antibiotic Therapy Compared to a Standard Strategy With Conventional Hospitalization and Intravenous Antibiotic Therapy: a Randomized Open-label Non-inferiority Study With Bayesian and Medical-economic Analyses.

An interventional study of therapeutic strategy in Osteomyelitis, sponsored by Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris. Active, not recruiting at 1 site in France. Open to participants aged 1 Year to 4 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-11-10.

Sponsored by Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment

Updated Nov 10, 2026Now Active, not recruitingPrimary outcomes revised+3 moreGo to Updates ↓
Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
189
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
1 Year to 4 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

The incidence of bone and joint infections (BJI) in children (osteomyelitis, septic arthritis and spondylodiscitis) is 22 per 100,000 children in France. Every year, 3,000 children are hospitalized for BJI, 46% of whom are hospitalized for osteomyelitis. The clinical pictures of BJI are varied: some are severe from the outset; others are non-severe, such as BJIs in Kingella kingae, which are most common in children between the ages of 6 months and 5 years. Currently, the management of children's BJI, regardless of their severity, involves initial hospitalization to start intravenous antibiotic therapy. This non-inferiority trial evaluates, in children with acute osteomyelitis with no severity criteria, less invasive outpatient management with an oral antibiotic treatment given at the outset compared to standard management.

Main objective : Demonstrate the non-inferiority of an ambulatory management strategy versus a standard strategy involving hospitalization on complete recovery without relapse at 6 months after an episode of acute osteomyelitis in children aged 1-4 years without severity criteria.

Primary endpoint: Complete cure without relapse at 6 months defined by the absence of clinical signs of osteomyelitis at 6 months AND the absence of secondary septic complications (septic arthritis, periosteal abscess) before the end of antibiotic therapy AND the absence of relapse or rehospitalization for osteomyelitis related to the initial infection. This criterion will be assessed blindly by an adjudication committee.

Randomized controlled trial of non inferiority, with active control, in open multi-center.

The control or experimental arm allocation (1:1 ratio) will be open-label of the physician, patient and parents. This is a PROBE study: The evaluation of the main judgment criterion will be carried out blindly by an adjudication committee.

Read the detailed description

The incidence of bone and joint infections (BJI) in children (osteomyelitis, septic arthritis and spondylodiscitis) is 22 per 100,000 children in France. Every year, 3,000 children are hospitalized for BJI, 46% of whom are hospitalized for osteomyelitis. The clinical pictures of BJI are varied: some are severe from the outset; others are non-severe, such as BJIs in Kingella kingae, which are most common in children between the ages of 6 months and 5 years. Currently, the management of children's BJI, regardless of their severity, involves initial hospitalization to start intravenous antibiotic therapy. This non-inferiority trial evaluates, in children with acute osteomyelitis with no severity criteria, less invasive outpatient management with an oral antibiotic treatment given at the outset compared to standard management.

Main objective : Demonstrate the non-inferiority of an ambulatory management strategy versus a standard strategy involving hospitalization on complete recovery without relapse at 6 months after an episode of acute osteomyelitis in children aged 1-4 years without severity criteria.

Primary endpoint: Complete cure without relapse at 6 months defined by the absence of clinical signs of osteomyelitis at 6 months AND the absence of secondary septic complications (septic arthritis, periosteal abscess) before the end of antibiotic therapy AND the absence of relapse or rehospitalization for osteomyelitis related to the initial infection. This criterion will be assessed blindly by an adjudication committee.

Randomized controlled trial of non inferiority, with active control, in open multi-center.

The control or experimental arm allocation (1:1 ratio) will be open-label of the physician, patient and parents. This is a PROBE study: The evaluation of the main judgment criterion will be carried out blindly by an adjudication committee.

02

Conditions studied

  • Osteomyelitis

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03

In context

Osteomyelitis

105 studies on the registry are indexed under Osteomyelitis; 30 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 189 is above the median of 74 across 60 interventional studies indexed under Osteomyelitis.

Browse Osteomyelitis studies →

Lead sponsor

Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris is the lead sponsor of 3,592 studies on the registry; 1,033 are open to participants now.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
1 Year to 4 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

Child ≥ 1 year and 4 years old ;

  • First episode of acute osteomyelitis suspected on clinical grounds (acute functional impotence (\<15 days) most often associated with fever) and confirmed in the first days of treatment by bone scan or MRI.
  • Absence of severity criteria :

    • Fever \< 39°C
    • AND absence of sepsis (absence of hemodynamic disorders, respiratory disorders, consciousness disorders)
    • AND absence of periosteal abscess or associated arthritis or deep vein thrombosis
    • AND absence of scarlatiniform rash (no gap of healthy skin)
    • AND CRP \< 50 mg/ml
    • AND normal initial bone radiograph (or simple soft tissue thickening).

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Multifocal osteoarticular infections
  • Sickle cell or patients
  • Antibiotic treatment in progress or within 48 hours prior to the emergency room visit
  • History of severe beta-lactam allergy (anaphylactic shock, angioedema)
  • Digestive problems (vomiting or diarrhea)
  • Refusal of parents to participate
  • Parents (children) not affiliated to social security or without CMU
  • Parents who do not speak French
  • Participation in another intervention research protocol
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(1)

Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.

Immunosuppression

A weakened immune system. It can come from an illness, such as HIV or some blood cancers, or from medicines that turn the immune system down, for example after an organ transplant or for an autoimmune disease; steroids at higher doses count.

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05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
189 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Active comparator
    Intravenous antibiotic treatment

    Intravenous antibiotic treatment started during an initial hospitalization of 3 days, with continuation of oral antibiotic therapy at home for a total duration of antibiotic therapy of 3 weeks

    Other: therapeutic strategy

  • Experimental
    oral antibiotic treatment

    Oral antibiotic treatment started in hospital then continued at home for a total duration of 3 weeks of antibiotic therapy

    Other: therapeutic strategy

Interventions

  • Othertherapeutic strategy

    Outpatient management strategy of acute non-severe osteomyelitis in children with oral antibiotic therapy compared to a standard strategy with conventional hospitalization and intravenous antibiotic therapy

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Number of participants with complete recovery without relapse

    Complete recovery without relapse defined by the absence of clinical signs of osteomyelitis (absence of pain, fever, swelling \& heat of any limb, biological inflammatory signs, relapse or hospitalisation AND the absence of secondary septic complications (septic arthritis, sub-periosteal abscess)

    Time frame: 6 months

07

Study locations

1 site
08

References and documents

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No

No publications or documents are linked to this record.

09

Updates

2 registry updates since Sep 25, 2026
Status
Recruiting→Active, not recruiting
changed Nov 6, 2026
Primary completion
Nov 30, 2024→May 31, 2026 (actual)
Nov 6, 2026
Study completion
May 31, 2025→Dec 31, 2026
Nov 6, 2026
Enrollment
320 (estimated)→189 (actual)
Nov 6, 2026
Primary outcomes
1 edited
What changed in the outcomes
  • EditedCompleteNumber of participants with complete recovery without relapse at 6 monthsTime frame: 6 months
Nov 10, 2026
Show all 2 updates
  1. Nov 10, 2026
    Primary outcomes 1 edited
    What changed in the outcomes
    • EditedCompleteNumber of participants with complete recovery without relapse at 6 monthsTime frame: 6 months
  2. Nov 6, 2026
    Recruiting→Active, not recruiting
    Primary completion Nov 30, 2024→May 31, 2026 (now actual)
    Study completion May 31, 2025→Dec 31, 2026
    Enrollment 320 (estimated)→189 (actual)
    + 5 other changes: identifiers, verification date, contact details, site details and index terms

From the registry record's own update history. This site started tracking changes on Sep 25, 2026; for anything earlier, see the record history on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT04554108
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Sep 18, 2020
Start date
May 31, 2021
Primary completion
May 31, 2026
Completion
Dec 31, 2026 (estimated)
Last update
Nov 10, 2026

Study contacts

Mathie LORROT, MD PhD
principal investigator · APHP

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Not currently enrolling

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