Nonregistration, Discontinuation, and Nonpublication of Randomized Trials

What percentage of randomized clinical trials (RCTs) are unregistered, prematurely discontinued, or unpublished?This systematic review assessing 347 RCTs receiving ethical approval in 2016 in the UK, Switzerland, Germany, and Canada found that 5.8% were unregistered, 31.1% were discontinued (predominately because of poor recruitment), and 20.5% did not make results available. Industry-sponsored RCTs performed better than non–industry-sponsored RCTs in making trial results available (often through trial registries) and industry-sponsored RCTs were less likely to be discontinued due to poor recruitment.Results of this study suggest that actions are needed to improve good practice and transparency in RCTs, particularly among non–industry-sponsored trials.

Corresponding Author: Matthias Briel, CLEAR Methods Center, Division of Clinical Epidemiology, Department of Clinical Research, University Hospital Basel, Totengässlein 3, 4051 Basel, Switzerland (matthias.briel@usb.ch).

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