Canadian RCTs to have new registration rules
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《英国医生杂志》
All randomised controlled trials (RCTs) funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research—Canada抯 primary funding agency for health research—will require registration with the International Standard Randomised Controlled Trial Number (ISRCTN). The institutes?president, Dr Alan Bernstein, said that the goal was to ensure greater access worldwide to information about the trials.
Under the ISRCTN scheme—developed by the UK company Current Controlled Trials, part of the Current Science Group of biomedical publishing companies—researchers register their trial by applying for a unique number, and information about the trial can then be identified and tracked on the company抯 website (www.controlled-trials.com). Not only clinicians and researchers, but also patients, funding agencies, policymakers, and the public, can have access to information about trials, including results.
"The new institutes?policy will help to support the drive for greater openness of information about randomised controlled trials," said Dr Bernstein.
Without a central register, randomised controlled trials are difficult to identify and follow, especially if they are ongoing and unpublished. As a result, potentially important information from unpublished trials is often not considered when available evidence is used to guide clinical practice and health policy.
The Canadian Institutes of Health Research says that the register encourages collaboration between researchers, reduces publication bias, differentiates between trials with the same title, identifies trials using several different titles, and reduces duplication of research efforts. It adds that if Canadian trials register, they will be more visible internationally.
Anne Greenwood, managing director of Current Controlled Trials, said, "The Canadian Institutes of Health Research is in good company. Other leading funding agencies, such as the UK抯 Medical Research Council, as well as the World Health Organization, are assigning to their respective randomised controlled trials to ensure that basic information about is made available to a wider audience."(Quebec David Spurgeon)
Under the ISRCTN scheme—developed by the UK company Current Controlled Trials, part of the Current Science Group of biomedical publishing companies—researchers register their trial by applying for a unique number, and information about the trial can then be identified and tracked on the company抯 website (www.controlled-trials.com). Not only clinicians and researchers, but also patients, funding agencies, policymakers, and the public, can have access to information about trials, including results.
"The new institutes?policy will help to support the drive for greater openness of information about randomised controlled trials," said Dr Bernstein.
Without a central register, randomised controlled trials are difficult to identify and follow, especially if they are ongoing and unpublished. As a result, potentially important information from unpublished trials is often not considered when available evidence is used to guide clinical practice and health policy.
The Canadian Institutes of Health Research says that the register encourages collaboration between researchers, reduces publication bias, differentiates between trials with the same title, identifies trials using several different titles, and reduces duplication of research efforts. It adds that if Canadian trials register, they will be more visible internationally.
Anne Greenwood, managing director of Current Controlled Trials, said, "The Canadian Institutes of Health Research is in good company. Other leading funding agencies, such as the UK抯 Medical Research Council, as well as the World Health Organization, are assigning to their respective randomised controlled trials to ensure that basic information about is made available to a wider audience."(Quebec David Spurgeon)