ArticleAddiction (Abingdon, England)2012
Primary outcome indices in illicit drug dependence treatment research: systematic approach to selection and measurement of drug use end-points in clinical trials.
Article in Addiction (Abingdon, England), 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 117 papers, 11 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
117 citing papers in PubMed, 11 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 204 citations in OpenAlex.
- Translational medications development for methamphetamine use disorder: A systematic review of preclinical, human laboratory, and clinical research.Pharmacological reviews · 2026Pooled it
- Substance Use Disorder Treatment Outcomes: Methodological Overview of Metrics and Criteria.International journal of methods in psychiatric research · 2025Pooled it
- Long-term efficacy of contingency management treatment based on objective indicators of abstinence from illicit substance use up to 1 year following treatment: A meta-analysis.Journal of consulting and clinical psychology · 2021Pooled it
- Intelligence quotient decline following frequent or dependent cannabis use in youth: a systematic review and meta-analysis of longitudinal studies.Psychological medicine · 2021Pooled it
- A meta-analysis of cognitive-behavioral therapy for alcohol or other drug use disorders: Treatment efficacy by contrast condition.Journal of consulting and clinical psychology · 2019Pooled it
- Change in employment status and cocaine use treatment outcomes: A secondary analysis across six clinical trials.Journal of substance abuse treatment · 2019Pooled it
- Transcranial electrical and magnetic stimulation (tES and TMS) for addiction medicine: A consensus paper on the present state of the science and the road ahead.Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews · 2019Pooled it
- Neuropsychological Interventions for Decision-Making in Addiction: a Systematic Review.Neuropsychology review · 2019Pooled it
- Systematic review of outcome domains and measures used in psychosocial and pharmacological treatment trials for cannabis use disorder.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2019Pooled it
- Measuring treatment outcomes in gambling disorders: a systematic review.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2018Pooled it
- The clinical significance of drug craving.Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences · 2012Pooled it
- Quality-of-life improvements associated with reductions in cocaine-positive urine drug screens.Psychology of addictive behaviors : journal of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors · 2026Trial
- A single-blind, randomized, controlled contingency management trial on physiological indices and biomarkers of cardiovascular health in people with cocaine use disorder.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2025Trial
- Influence of cocaine use reduction on markers of immune function.Journal of neuroimmunology · 2024Trial
- Cognitive behavioral therapy for anxiety and opioid use disorder: Development and pilot testing.Journal of substance use and addiction treatment · 2024Trial
- Feasibility and preliminary efficacy of a community support intervention for people with opioid use disorder.The American journal on addictions · 2023Trial
- Mechanisms of quality-of-life improvement in treatment for alcohol use disorder.Journal of consulting and clinical psychology · 2022Trial
- Evaluating cannabis use risk reduction as an alternative clinical outcome for cannabis use disorder.Psychology of addictive behaviors : journal of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors · 2022Trial
- Characterizing cannabis use reduction and change in functioning during treatment: Initial steps on the path to new clinical endpoints.Psychology of addictive behaviors : journal of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors · 2022Trial
- Validating the clinical relevance of alternative stimulant use treatment outcome measures by examining their association with 3-month follow-up outcomes.Experimental and clinical psychopharmacology · 2021Trial
57 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
16 authors at 10 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
aimsClinical trials test the safety and efficacy of behavioral and pharmacological interventions in drug-dependent individuals. However, there is no consensus about the most appropriate outcome(s) to consider in determining treatment efficacy or on the most appropriate methods for assessing selected outcome(s). We summarize the discussion and recommendations of treatment and research experts, convened by the US National Institute on Drug Abuse, to select appropriate primary outcomes for drug dependence treatment clinical trials, and in particular the feasibility of selecting a common outcome to be included in all or most trials.
methodsA brief history of outcomes employed in prior drug dependence treatment research, incorporating perspectives from tobacco and alcohol research, is included. The relative merits and limitations of focusing on drug-taking behavior, as measured by self-report and qualitative or quantitative biological markers, are evaluated.
resultsDrug-taking behavior, measured ideally by a combination of self-report and biological indicators, is seen as the most appropriate proximal primary outcome in drug dependence treatment clinical trials.
conclusionsWe conclude that the most appropriate outcome will vary as a function of salient variables inherent in the clinical trial, such as the type of intervention, its target, treatment goals (e.g. abstinence or reduction of use) and the perspective being taken (e.g. researcher, clinical program, patient, society). It is recommended that a decision process, based on such trial variables, be developed to guide the selection of primary and secondary outcomes as well as the methods to assess them.
Indexed as
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What OpenQuestion holds
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.