ArticlePLOS digital health2024
A cluster randomized trial assessing the effect of a digital health algorithm on quality of care in Tanzania (DYNAMIC study).
Article in PLOS digital health, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT05144763 (Dynamic Clinical Decision Support Algorithms to Manage Sick Children in Primary Health Care Settings in Tanzania), which is not on this map. Cited by 6 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Dynamic Clinical Decision Support Algorithms to Manage Sick Children in Primary Health Care Settings in Tanzania
Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Digital patient safety interventions in primary care: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC medicine · 2026Pooled it
- The impact of interventions to modify antibiotic use in children with suspected infections in ambulatory healthcare settings in LMICs: a systematic review.JAC-antimicrobial resistance · 2026Review
- Article
- Antibiotic stewardship and point-of-care testing for children in 25 low-income and lower-middle-income countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis.EClinicalMedicine · 2025Article
- Enhancing Physicians' Adherence to the 2023 Sudan Malaria Case Management Protocol Using AI as an Intervention Tool.Cureus · 2025Article
- medAL-suite: A software solution for creating and deploying complex clinical decision support algorithms.BMC medical informatics and decision making · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
16 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Digital clinical decision support tools have contributed to improved quality of care at primary care level health facilities. However, data from real-world randomized trials are lacking. We conducted a cluster randomized, open-label trial in Tanzania evaluating the use of a digital clinical decision support algorithm (CDSA), enhanced by point-of-care tests, training and mentorship, compared with usual care, among sick children 2 to 59 months old presenting to primary care facilities for an acute illness in Tanzania (ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05144763). The primary outcome was the mean proportion of 14 major Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI) symptoms and signs assessed by clinicians. Secondary outcomes included antibiotic prescription, counseling provided, and the appropriateness of antimalarial and antibiotic prescriptions. A total of 450 consultations were observed in 9 intervention and 9 control health facilities. The mean proportion of major symptoms and signs assessed in intervention health facilities was 46.4% (range 7.7% to 91.7%) compared to 26.3% (range 0% to 66.7%) in control health facilities, an adjusted difference of 15.1% (95% confidence interval [CI] 4.8% to 25.4%). Only weight, height, and pallor were assessed statistically more often when using the digital CDSA compared to controls. Observed antibiotic prescription was 37.3% in intervention facilities, and 76.4% in control facilities (adjusted risk ratio 0.5; 95% CI 0.4 to 0.7; p<0.001). Appropriate antibiotic prescription was 81.9% in intervention facilities and 51.4% in control facilities (adjusted risk ratio 1.5; 95% CI 1.2 to 1.8; p = 0.003). The implementation of a digital CDSA improved the mean proportion of IMCI symptoms and signs assessed in consultations with sick children, however most symptoms and signs were assessed infrequently. Nonetheless, antibiotics were prescribed less often, and more appropriately. Innovative approaches to overcome barriers related to clinicians' motivation and work environment are needed.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.