The Prevention and Treatment of Missing Data in Clinical Trials

The Prevention and Treatment of Missing Data in Clinical Trials PDF

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2010-12-21

Total Pages: 163

ISBN-13: 030918651X

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Randomized clinical trials are the primary tool for evaluating new medical interventions. Randomization provides for a fair comparison between treatment and control groups, balancing out, on average, distributions of known and unknown factors among the participants. Unfortunately, these studies often lack a substantial percentage of data. This missing data reduces the benefit provided by the randomization and introduces potential biases in the comparison of the treatment groups. Missing data can arise for a variety of reasons, including the inability or unwillingness of participants to meet appointments for evaluation. And in some studies, some or all of data collection ceases when participants discontinue study treatment. Existing guidelines for the design and conduct of clinical trials, and the analysis of the resulting data, provide only limited advice on how to handle missing data. Thus, approaches to the analysis of data with an appreciable amount of missing values tend to be ad hoc and variable. The Prevention and Treatment of Missing Data in Clinical Trials concludes that a more principled approach to design and analysis in the presence of missing data is both needed and possible. Such an approach needs to focus on two critical elements: (1) careful design and conduct to limit the amount and impact of missing data and (2) analysis that makes full use of information on all randomized participants and is based on careful attention to the assumptions about the nature of the missing data underlying estimates of treatment effects. In addition to the highest priority recommendations, the book offers more detailed recommendations on the conduct of clinical trials and techniques for analysis of trial data.

Review of the Fialuridine (FIAU) Clinical Trials

Review of the Fialuridine (FIAU) Clinical Trials PDF

Author: Institute of Medicine

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 1995-03-14

Total Pages: 279

ISBN-13: 0309176611

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In June 1993 a clinical trial of fialuridine (FIAU), a promising new medication for hepatitis B, was abruptly terminated when one of the 15 out-patients participating in the National Institutes of Health (NIH) study was suddenly hospitalized with liver failure. Although all the remaining patients were contacted and told to stop taking their medication, six more subsequently developed severe toxicity. Five patients died, and two others were probably saved from death only by having liver transplants. In response to a request from the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, the IOM committee has analyzed the FIAU clinical trials, making recommendations for additional safeguards for the conduct of future clinical trials. This evaluation included the review of documents pertaining to investigational new drug submissions, protocols and consent forms from other clinical trials, as well as information available from other clinical and preclinical experience with compounds related to FIAU and its parent drug, fiacitibine (FIAC), which is metabolized to FIAU. The committee does not seek to affix responsibility for the adverse outcome of this NIH trial, but instead focuses on whether any rules or procedures governing the clinical trials process itself need to be changed, and if so, what burdens or costs such changes might place on future clinical trials.

Sharing Clinical Trial Data

Sharing Clinical Trial Data PDF

Author: Institute of Medicine

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2015-04-20

Total Pages: 304

ISBN-13: 0309316324

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Data sharing can accelerate new discoveries by avoiding duplicative trials, stimulating new ideas for research, and enabling the maximal scientific knowledge and benefits to be gained from the efforts of clinical trial participants and investigators. At the same time, sharing clinical trial data presents risks, burdens, and challenges. These include the need to protect the privacy and honor the consent of clinical trial participants; safeguard the legitimate economic interests of sponsors; and guard against invalid secondary analyses, which could undermine trust in clinical trials or otherwise harm public health. Sharing Clinical Trial Data presents activities and strategies for the responsible sharing of clinical trial data. With the goal of increasing scientific knowledge to lead to better therapies for patients, this book identifies guiding principles and makes recommendations to maximize the benefits and minimize risks. This report offers guidance on the types of clinical trial data available at different points in the process, the points in the process at which each type of data should be shared, methods for sharing data, what groups should have access to data, and future knowledge and infrastructure needs. Responsible sharing of clinical trial data will allow other investigators to replicate published findings and carry out additional analyses, strengthen the evidence base for regulatory and clinical decisions, and increase the scientific knowledge gained from investments by the funders of clinical trials. The recommendations of Sharing Clinical Trial Data will be useful both now and well into the future as improved sharing of data leads to a stronger evidence base for treatment. This book will be of interest to stakeholders across the spectrum of research--from funders, to researchers, to journals, to physicians, and ultimately, to patients.

Small Clinical Trials

Small Clinical Trials PDF

Author: Institute of Medicine

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2001-01-01

Total Pages: 221

ISBN-13: 0309171148

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Clinical trials are used to elucidate the most appropriate preventive, diagnostic, or treatment options for individuals with a given medical condition. Perhaps the most essential feature of a clinical trial is that it aims to use results based on a limited sample of research participants to see if the intervention is safe and effective or if it is comparable to a comparison treatment. Sample size is a crucial component of any clinical trial. A trial with a small number of research participants is more prone to variability and carries a considerable risk of failing to demonstrate the effectiveness of a given intervention when one really is present. This may occur in phase I (safety and pharmacologic profiles), II (pilot efficacy evaluation), and III (extensive assessment of safety and efficacy) trials. Although phase I and II studies may have smaller sample sizes, they usually have adequate statistical power, which is the committee's definition of a "large" trial. Sometimes a trial with eight participants may have adequate statistical power, statistical power being the probability of rejecting the null hypothesis when the hypothesis is false. Small Clinical Trials assesses the current methodologies and the appropriate situations for the conduct of clinical trials with small sample sizes. This report assesses the published literature on various strategies such as (1) meta-analysis to combine disparate information from several studies including Bayesian techniques as in the confidence profile method and (2) other alternatives such as assessing therapeutic results in a single treated population (e.g., astronauts) by sequentially measuring whether the intervention is falling above or below a preestablished probability outcome range and meeting predesigned specifications as opposed to incremental improvement.

Global Clinical Trials for Alzheimer’s Disease

Global Clinical Trials for Alzheimer’s Disease PDF

Author: H. Michael Arrighi

Publisher: Elsevier Inc. Chapters

Published: 2013-08-28

Total Pages: 432

ISBN-13: 0128070463

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Alzheimer’s disease (AD) confers an additional risk of death. The magnitude of this impact is related to the person’s underlying mortality and current AD stage. When planning clinical trials, estimating the number of deaths prior to study initiation, and periodically during the study as participants are enrolled, assists in providing an informative context, particularly if there are few life events. Additionally, deaths have the potential to introduce a bias, thus, equal follow-up needs to ensure for participants assigned to either active or placebo, particularly if the period of observation for safety events extends beyond the end of the study. During AD clinical trials, patients discontinue for reasons other than death and at substantially high rates, which has the potential to introduce significant bias. Planning and incorporating strategies to improve retention and identify successful techniques should be an integral part of the study process.

Clinical Trials and Death

Clinical Trials and Death PDF

Author: Patti Larsen

Publisher: Mayhem and Murder Ink

Published: 2022-04-19

Total Pages: 194

ISBN-13: 9781989925669

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Finding a cure for cancer can be murder... When Reading's ME, Dr. Lloyd Aberstock, asks Fiona Fleming to investigate a clinical trial, she's on the case immediately. With the life and death balance of his beloved Bernice in peril, Fee digs into Dr. Aberstock's concerns with help from her own husband, Crew. Fee uncovers deceit, sabotage and corporate espionage, all while trying to stay under the radar when one of the trial's doctors ends up dead. But is the drug a fraud, or will the death of its creator put Bernice's recovery at risk by ending the trial early? Available now from Fleming Investigations Cozy Mysteries: Patent Pending and Death Inquiring Minds and Death Finding Zen and Death All In and Death Out With the Old and Death Tropical Destinations and Death Family Enterprise and Death Clinical Trials and Death

Approaching Death

Approaching Death PDF

Author: Committee on Care at the End of Life

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 1997-10-30

Total Pages: 457

ISBN-13: 0309518253

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When the end of life makes its inevitable appearance, people should be able to expect reliable, humane, and effective caregiving. Yet too many dying people suffer unnecessarily. While an "overtreated" dying is feared, untreated pain or emotional abandonment are equally frightening. Approaching Death reflects a wide-ranging effort to understand what we know about care at the end of life, what we have yet to learn, and what we know but do not adequately apply. It seeks to build understanding of what constitutes good care for the dying and offers recommendations to decisionmakers that address specific barriers to achieving good care. This volume offers a profile of when, where, and how Americans die. It examines the dimensions of caring at the end of life: Determining diagnosis and prognosis and communicating these to patient and family. Establishing clinical and personal goals. Matching physical, psychological, spiritual, and practical care strategies to the patient's values and circumstances. Approaching Death considers the dying experience in hospitals, nursing homes, and other settings and the role of interdisciplinary teams and managed care. It offers perspectives on quality measurement and improvement, the role of practice guidelines, cost concerns, and legal issues such as assisted suicide. The book proposes how health professionals can become better prepared to care well for those who are dying and to understand that these are not patients for whom "nothing can be done."

Clinical Trials and Death

Clinical Trials and Death PDF

Author: Patti Larsen

Publisher: Patti Larsen Books

Published:

Total Pages: 109

ISBN-13: 1989925588

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Finding a cure for cancer can be murder… When Reading’s ME, Dr. Lloyd Aberstock, asks Fiona Fleming to investigate a clinical trial, she’s on the case immediately. With the life and death balance of his beloved Bernice in peril, Fee digs into Dr. Aberstock’s concerns with help from her own husband, Crew. Fee uncovers deceit, sabotage and corporate espionage, all while trying to stay under the radar when one of the trial’s doctors ends up dead. But is the drug a fraud, or will the death of its creator put Bernice’s recovery at risk by ending the trial early? KEYWORDS: cozy murder mystery series, cozy murder mystery book, cozy mystery series, cozy mystery book, murder mystery series, murder mystery book, small town cozy mystery, dog mystery, dog cozy, animal cozy

Wrongful Death

Wrongful Death PDF

Author: Gene Brewer

Publisher:

Published: 2006-05

Total Pages: 230

ISBN-13: 1425712223

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Thirteen-year-old diabetic Angela Calvecchi has died following treatment with the experimental drug Mercipine. Despite the overwhelming odds against winning the case, her parents decide to file a wrongful death suit against the giant corporation Mercer Pharmaceuticals. In state civil court, Attorney Marcus Allen, Jr. and his partner Candace White, argue that the outdated procedures used by the company, and approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, were inadequate to ensure the safety of the drug for use in clinical trials. This gripping courtroom drama will have you turning the pages until a verdict is rendered.