Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36038171›Full record

ArticleBMJ open2022

Which decentralised trial activities are reported in clinical trial protocols of drug trials initiated in 2019-2020? A cross-sectional study in ClinicalTrials.gov.

Amos J de Jong, Renske J Grupstra, Yared Santa-Ana-Tellez, Mira G P Zuidgeest, Anthonius de Boer, Helga Gardarsdottir, Trials@Home consortium

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMJ open, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
16citing papers in PubMed
3.8field-weighted citation impact, top 6% of its field
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

16 citing papers in PubMed, 20 citations in OpenAlex.

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  11. Narrative review of telemedicine applications in decentralized research.Journal of clinical and translational science · 2024
    Review
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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

7 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Amos J de JongDivision of Pharmacoepidemiology and Clinical Pharmacology, Utrecht Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.ORCID 0000-0002-6860-9213
Renske J GrupstraDivision of Pharmacoepidemiology and Clinical Pharmacology, Utrecht Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Yared Santa-Ana-TellezDivision of Pharmacoepidemiology and Clinical Pharmacology, Utrecht Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Mira G P ZuidgeestJulius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Centre Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Anthonius de BoerDivision of Pharmacoepidemiology and Clinical Pharmacology, Utrecht Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Helga GardarsdottirDivision of Pharmacoepidemiology and Clinical Pharmacology, Utrecht Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands h.gardarsdottir@uu.nl.ORCID 0000-0001-5623-9684
Trials@Home consortium
Utrecht University · NLUniversity Medical Center Utrecht · NLUniversity of Iceland · IS

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesDecentralised clinical trial activities-such as participant recruitment via social media, data collection through wearables and direct-to-participant investigational medicinal product (IMP) supply-have the potential to change the way clinical trials (CTs) are conducted and with that to reduce the participation burden and improve generalisability. In this study, we investigated the decentralised and on-site conduct of trial activities as reported in CT protocols with a trial start date in 2019 or 2020.

designWe ascertained the decentralised and on-site conduct for the following operational trial activities: participant outreach, prescreening, screening, obtaining informed consent, asynchronous communication, participant training, IMP supply, IMP adherence monitoring, CT monitoring, staff training and data collection. Results were compared for the public versus private sponsors, regions involved, trial phases and four time periods (the first and second half of 2019 and 2020, respectively).

settingPhases 2, 3 and 4 clinical drug trial protocols with a trial start date in 2019 or 2020 available from ClinicalTrials.gov. OUTCOME MEASURES: The occurrence of decentralised and on-site conduct of the predefined trial activities reported in CT protocols.

resultsFor all trial activities, on-site conduct was more frequently reported than decentralised conduct. Decentralised conduct of the individual trial activities was reported in less than 25.6% of the 254 included protocols, except for decentralised data collection, which was reported in 68.9% of the protocols. More specifically, 81.9% of the phase 3 protocols reported decentralised data collection, compared with 73.3% and 47.0% of the phase 2 and 4 protocols, respectively. For several activities, including prescreening, screening and consenting, upward trends in reporting decentralised conduct were visible over time.

conclusionsDecentralised methods are used in CTs, mainly for data collection, but less frequently for other activities. Sharing best practices and a detailed description in protocols can drive the adoption of decentralised methods.

Indexed as

Informed ConsentCross-Sectional StudiesData CollectionHumansTime Factorsclinical trialsprotocols & guidelinestelemedicine

Identifiers

PMID36038171
PMCPMC9438113
OpenAlexW4293483812

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
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.