NCT07123961

Pediatric Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) Management Trial

Pediatric Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) Management (PARMA) Trial

• Status: Recruiting
• Phase: Phase 2
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 160 (estimated)
• Sponsor: Children's Hospital of Philadelphia · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 2 Weeks – 17 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a serious and potentially life-threatening lung condition that can affect children. Currently, ventilator settings commonly used in treatment are based on approaches developed for adults, and it remains unclear whether these settings are equally effective for children. Because children's bodies respond differently than adults', it is important to determine the most effective ventilator strategies specifically for pediatric patients. This study will compare two different ventilator approaches in children with ARDS to identify which method provides the greatest benefit. The findings will also help inform the design of a larger study in the future.

Conditions

• Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS)
• Ventilator Management
• Lung-protective Ventilation
• Pediatric Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (PARDS)

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
OTHER	High Driving Pressure Mechanical Ventilation	A participant who is already invasively mechanically ventilated will be placed on "Pressure Control Ventilation" mode on an Evita V500 (Manufacturer: Dräger, Lübeck, Germany) ventilator if they are not already. The driving pressure will be set to 25 cmH2O (rate of pressure delivery). The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) PICU's standard of care regarding sedation, fluid management, ventilator weaning, and extubation readiness for invasively mechanically ventilated children will be adhered to for the duration of the study. An Enlight 2100 Electrical Impedance Tomography (EIT) Device (Manufacturer: Timpel) strap will be placed across the participant's chest up to four times throughout the study for a few hours to image the aeration in the lungs.
OTHER	Low Driving Pressure Mechanical Ventilation	A participant who is already invasively mechanically ventilated will be placed on "Pressure Control Ventilation" mode on an Evita V500 (Manufacturer: Lübeck, Germany) ventilator if they are not already. The driving pressure will be set to 15 cmH2O (rate of pressure delivery). CHOP PICU's standard of care regarding sedation, fluid management, ventilator weaning, and extubation readiness for invasively mechanically ventilated children will be adhered to for the duration of the study. An Enlight 2100 (EIT) Device (Manufacturer: Timpel) strap will be placed across the participant's chest up to four times throughout the study for a few hours to image the aeration in the lungs.

Timeline

• Start date: 2025-11-07
• Primary completion: 2029-12-31
• Completion: 2030-06-30
• First posted: 2025-08-14
• Last updated: 2026-03-16

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States