Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40056469›Full record

ArticleJMIR medical informatics2025

Data Interoperability in COVID-19 Vaccine Trials: Methodological Approach in the VACCELERATE Project.

Salma Malik, Zoi Pana Dorothea, Christos D Argyropoulos, Sophia Themistocleous, Alan J Macken, Olena Valdenmaiier, Frank Scheckenbach, Elena Bardach, Andrea Pfeiffer, Katherine Loens and 5 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in JMIR medical informatics, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
–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. Article
  2. Article
  3. Observational
  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

15 authors.

Salma Malik *European Clinical Research Infrastructure Network, Paris, France.ORCID 0009-0000-1965-1266
Zoi Pana Dorothea *School of Medicine, European University Cyprus, Nicosia, Cyprus.ORCID 0000-0002-5893-1081
Christos D Argyropoulos *Chemical Engineering Department, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.ORCID 0000-0002-2090-2162
Sophia Themistocleous *School of Medicine, European University Cyprus, Nicosia, Cyprus.ORCID 0000-0003-3561-0004
Alan J Macken *Centre for Experimental Pathogen Host Research, University College Dublin School of Medicine, National University of Ireland, Dublin, Ireland.ORCID 0000-0003-3320-8767
Olena Valdenmaiier *Centre of Excellence for Health, Immunity and Infections, Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.ORCID 0000-0001-7882-2635
Frank Scheckenbach *Clinical Trials Centre Cologne, Faculty of Medicine, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.ORCID 0009-0003-7178-9854
Elena Bardach *Clinical Trials Centre Cologne, Faculty of Medicine, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.ORCID 0009-0005-5867-714X
Andrea Pfeiffer *Clinical Trials Centre Cologne, Faculty of Medicine, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.ORCID 0009-0007-0481-6399
Katherine Loens *Laboratory of Medical Microbiology, VAXINFECTIO, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.ORCID 0009-0008-3009-2862
Jordi Cano Ochando *Microbiology Section, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and of Health, Faculty of Pharmacy, Universidad San Pablo-Centro de Estudios Universitarios, Madrid, Spain.ORCID 0000-0001-7037-1681
Oliver A Cornely *CECAD, CIO ABCD, ECMM, CMMC, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.ORCID 0000-0001-9599-3137
Jacques Demotes-Mainard *European Clinical Research Infrastructure Network, Paris, France.ORCID 0000-0002-0807-0746
Sergio Contrino *European Clinical Research Infrastructure Network, Paris, France.ORCID 0000-0003-3409-5231
Gerd Felder *European Clinical Research Infrastructure Network, Paris, France.ORCID 0009-0000-2540-0164

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundData standards are not only key to making data processing efficient but also fundamental to ensuring data interoperability. When clinical trial data are structured according to international standards, they become significantly easier to analyze, reducing the efforts required for data cleaning, preprocessing, and secondary use. A common language and a shared set of expectations facilitate interoperability between systems and devices.

objectiveThe main objectives of this study were to identify commonalities and differences in clinical trial metadata, protocols, and data collection systems/items within the VACCELERATE project.

methodsTo assess the degree of interoperability achieved in the project and suggest methodological improvements, interoperable points were identified based on the core outcome areas-immunogenicity, safety, and efficacy (clinical/physiological). These points were emphasized in the development of the master protocol template and were manually compared in the following ways: (1) summaries, objectives, and end points in the protocols of 3 VACCELERATE clinical trials (EU-COVAT-1_AGED, EU-COVAT-2_BOOSTAVAC, and EU-COVPT-1_CoVacc) against the master protocol template; (2) metadata of all 3 clinical trials; and (3) evaluations from a questionnaire survey regarding differences in data management systems and structures that enabled data exchange within the VACCELERATE network.

resultsThe noncommonalities identified in the protocols and metadata were attributed to differences in populations, variations in protocol design, and vaccination patterns. The detailed metadata released for all 3 vaccine trials were clearly structured using internal standards, terminology, and the general approach of Clinical Data Acquisition Standards Harmonisation (CDASH) for data collection (eg, on electronic case report forms). VACCELERATE benefited significantly from the selection of the Clinical Trials Centre Cologne as the sole data management provider. With system database development coordinated by a single individual and no need for coordination among different trial units, a high degree of uniformity was achieved automatically. The harmonized transfer of data to all sites, using well-established methods, enabled quick exchanges and provided a relatively secure means of data transfer.

conclusionsThis study demonstrated that using master protocols can significantly enhance trial operational efficiency and data interoperability, provided that similar infrastructure and data management procedures are adopted across multiple trials. To further improve data interoperability and facilitate interpretation and analysis, shared data should be structured, described, formatted, and stored using widely recognized data and metadata standards.

trial registrationEudraCT 2021-004526-29; https://www.clinicaltrialsregister.eu/ctr-search/trial/2021-004526-29/DE/; 2021-004889-35; https://www.clinicaltrialsregister.eu/ctr-search/search?query=eudract_number:2021-004889-35; and 2021-004526-29; https://www.clinicaltrialsregister.eu/ctr-search/search?query=eudract_number:2021-004526-29.

Indexed as

Clinical Trials as TopicCOVID-19COVID-19 VaccinesHealth Information InteroperabilityHumansMetadataSARS-CoV-2COVID-19 Vaccinesadultclinical trialsdata managementharmonizationinteroperabilitymetadatapediatricprotocolstandardssystems

Identifiers

PMID40056469
PMCPMC11928774

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.