ReviewResearch synthesis methods2026
Aggregating and analysing clinical trials data from multiple public registers using R package ctrdata.
Review in Research synthesis methods, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
1 author.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The ctrdata package has been created to boost the use of data available in public registers of clinical trials. It enables user-friendly, reproducible workflows to identify trials of interest, download protocol- and results-related data, and conduct sophisticated analyses, across multiple registers and trials. ctrdata works in the widely used R environment, and its databases can be used with other tools. The package is open source with a permissive licence, to facilitate collaboration.This report provides an overview of ctrdata, including its implementation, cases of interest to researchers in public health, medicines, and regulatory science, as well as potential limitations and further developments. At this time, ctrdata works with the European Union (EU) Clinical Trials Information System (CTIS), the EU Clinical Trials Register (EUCTR), the US Clinicaltrials.Gov (CTGOV), and the ISRCTN-the UK's Clinical Study Registry. The registers are complementary in scope and scientific value, yet differences in data models, variable definitions, search parametrisations, and retrieval options hamper efficient scientific workflows, calling for a scientific-technical, programmatic solution and driving the development of ctrdata.By employing ctrdata to comprehensively use and easily leverage trial register data, researchers can effectively address a variety of questions, gain useful insights into evolving policies and practices of drug development, and inform further clinical research. Patients and their organisations, developers, policymakers, and other interested parties can build on ctrdata to create solutions for their use cases.
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.