Virtual house calls: could remote exams keep fragile kids out of the hospital?
NCT ID NCT05408143
First seen Aug 14, 2026 · Last updated Aug 14, 2026
Summary
This trial tests whether adding an enhanced telemedicine program to standard comprehensive care helps children with complex medical conditions avoid hospital stays. Families will use mobile devices to measure temperature, oxygen levels, and listen to heart and lungs, while doctors examine skin, throat, and ears remotely. The study compares outcomes like days of medical care and serious illness episodes between children receiving this extra telemedicine support and those receiving standard care.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Enhanced telemedicine program using remote examination devices (thermometer, pulse oximeter, digital stethoscope, and camera) during clinic hours
- What this could lead to
- If effective, this approach could reduce hospitalizations and serious illnesses for children with complex medical needs, improving their quality of life and lowering healthcare costs.
- What could go wrong
- The trial is early and single-center, so results may not apply broadly. Remote exams might miss critical findings, and the technology could be challenging for some families.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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254 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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Jul 2022
- Finished
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Aug 2024
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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Up to 18 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Greater than or equal to 2 hospitalizations or greater than or equal to 1 ICU admission in the year before joining the comprehensive care program * Greater than 50 percent estimated risk of hospitalization without our care as judged by the medical director Exclusion Criteria: * Major heart disease * Mitochondrial disorders * Active cancer * Do-Not-Resuscitate (DNR) order * Patients receiving compassionate care
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As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
Houston, Texas, 77030, United States
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