ArticleBMC research notes2021
What discontinued trials teach us about trial registration?
Article in BMC research notes, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
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
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- Article
- Boosting and broadening recruitment to UK cancer trials: towards a blueprint for action.BMJ oncology · 2023Review
- The Characteristics of Clinical Studies Submitted to the Saudi Food and Drug Authority from 2009 until 2020.Saudi pharmaceutical journal : SPJ : the official publication of the Saudi Pharmaceutical Society · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTrial registries were set up to improve transparency, remove duplication, improve awareness and avoid waste. Many trials never reach the point of patient enrolment due to a myriad of reasons. The aim of this study was to investigate the reasons for and characteristics of discontinuation of trials.
resultsA total of 163 discontinued trials were identified and compared to completed trials. A Survey was designed to further explore the nature and conduct of the trial. No differences in registered and categorised information was observed between discontinued and completed trials. Most trials discontinue due to patient or participant recruitment issues, often related to funding. Substantial changes to procedures or the protocol or changes to recruitment strategy were also commonly cited reasons. Survey information was available for 21 discontinued and 28 completed trials and no obvious differences could be identified. Our findings highlight the underlying problem of lack of detail, suboptimal recording, dated information and incomplete reporting of trials within a trial registry which hampers sharing and learning. To date, important progress has been made by the implementation of standards and the requirement of trials to be registered. Our review identifies areas where further improvements can be made.
Indexed as
Identifiers
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.