Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32191186›Full record

ArticleThe western journal of emergency medicine2020

Quality and Publication of Emergency Medicine Trials Registered in ClinicalTrials.gov

Lisa Calvocoressi, Jesse Reynolds, Benjamin Johnson, Meghan M Warzoha, Megan Carroll, Federico E Vaca, Lori Post, James Dziura

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in The western journal of emergency medicine, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Time to publication for results of clinical trials.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2024
    Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Starting Up Clinical Trials in Emergency Medicine: Advice and Acronyms for New Investigators.Journal of the American College of Emergency Physicians open · 2026
    Article
  4. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Lisa CalvocoressiYale Center for Analytical Sciences, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, Connecticut.
Jesse ReynoldsYale Center for Analytical Sciences, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, Connecticut.
Benjamin JohnsonYale Center for Analytical Sciences, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, Connecticut.
Meghan M WarzohaYale Center for Analytical Sciences, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, Connecticut.
Megan CarrollJohns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Department of Epidemiology, Baltimore, Maryland.
Federico E VacaYale School of Medicine, Department of Emergency Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut.
Lori PostNorthwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine, Department of Emergency Medicine, Chicago, Illinois.
James DziuraYale Center for Analytical Sciences, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, Connecticut.

Funding

Yale Clinical and Translational Science Award (U Component)UL1TR001863 · NCATS · YALE UNIVERSITY · PI John H. Krystal, LUCILA OHNO-MACHADO · 2016 to 2026
$102.9M
NCATS NIH HHS UL1 TR001863
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionPromoting emergency medicine (EM) clinical trials research remains a priority. To characterize the status of clinical EM research, this study assessed trial quality, funding source, and publication of EM clinical trials and compared EM and non-EM trials on these key metrics. We also examined the volume of EM trials and their subspecialty areas.

methodsWe abstracted data from ClinicalTrials.gov (February 2000 - September 2013) and used individual study National Clinical Trial numbers to identify published trials (January 2007 - September 2016). We used descriptive statistics and chi-square tests to examine study characteristics by EM and non-EM status, and Kaplan-Meier curves and log-rank tests to compare time to publication of completed EM and non-EM studies.

resultsWe found 638 interventional EM trials and 59,512 non-EM interventional trials conducted in the United States between February 2000 and September 2013, registered on ClinicalTrials.gov. EM studies were significantly less likely than non-EM studies to be National Institutes of Health-funded or to evaluate a drug or biologic. However, EM studies had significantly larger sample sizes, and were significantly more likely to use randomization and blinding. Overall, 34.3% of EM and 26.0% of non-EM studies were published in peer-reviewed journals. By subspecialty, more EM trials concerned medical/surgical and psychiatric/neurological conditions than trauma.

conclusionAlthough EM studies were less likely to have received federal or industry funding, and the EM portfolio consisted of only 638 trials over the 14-year study period, the quality of EM trials surpassed that of non-EM trials, based on indices such as randomization and blinding. This novel finding bodes well for the future of clinical EM research, as does the higher proportion of published EM than non-EM trials. Our study also revealed that trauma studies were under-represented among EM studies. Periodic assessment of EM trials with the metrics used here could provide an informative and valuable longitudinal view of progress in clinical EM research.

Indexed as

Emergency MedicineResearch DesignClinical Trials as TopicHumansNational Institutes of Health (U.S.)PublicationsUnited States

Identifiers

PMID32191186
PMCPMC7081876

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.