INTRODUCTION Reporting randomised controlled trials is a key element in order to disseminate research findings. The CONSORT statement was introduced to improve the reporting quality. We assessed the adherence to the CONSORT statement of randomised controlled trials published 2011 in the top ten ranked journals of critical care medicine (ISI Web of Knowledge 2011, Thomson Reuters, London UK). ...

A physiotherapist at Monash Medical Centre wanted to know the most effective physiotherapy treatments for lymphoedema following treatment for breast cancer. Search question People undergoing physiotherapy for lymphoedema formed the patient group of interest. Clinical outcomes were reduction or prevention of lymphoedema. A randomised controlled trial comparing physiotherapy treatment to no treat...

INTRODUCTION The effects of renin-angiotensin system blockade with angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs) and angiotensin II type 1 receptor blockers (ARBs) on cancer remain inconsistent. METHODS We searched existing databases from 1960 to August 2015, for randomised controlled trials and observational studies (case-control studies and cohort studies) of ARB/ACEI therapy with a mini...

OBJECTIVES To determine whether observational studies that use an electronic medical record database can provide valid results of therapeutic effectiveness and to develop new methods to enhance validity. DESIGN Data from the UK general practice research database (GPRD) were used to replicate previously performed randomised controlled trials, to the extent that was feasible aside from randomis...

Databases searched: Medline (1999 to November Week 2, 2003). MeSH terms for kidney disease were combined with MeSH terms and text words for alkali therapy and bicarbonates. The results were then combined with the Cochrane highly sensitive search strategy for randomised controlled trials and MeSH terms and text words for identifying meta-analyses and systematic reviews. The Cochrane Renal Group ...

BACKGROUND Because pragmatic trials are performed to determine if an intervention can improve current practice, they often have a control group receiving 'usual care'. The behaviour of caregivers and patients in this control group should be influenced by the actions of researchers as little as possible. Guidelines for describing the composition and management of a usual care control group are l...

OBJECTIVE To examine the use of qualitative approaches alongside randomised trials of complex healthcare interventions. DESIGN Review of randomised controlled trials of interventions to change professional practice or the organisation of care. DATA SOURCES Systematic sample of 100 trials published in English from the register of the Cochrane Effective Practice and Organisation of Care Revie...

BACKGROUND The three randomised controlled trials, Interventional Management of Stroke III (IMS3), Mechanical Retrieval and Revascularization of Stroke Clots Using Embolectomy (MR RESCUE) and Synthesis Expanasion: A Randomized Controlled Trial on Intra-Arterial Versus Intravenous Thrombolysis in Acute Ischaemic Stroke (SYNTHESIS EXP) showed no significant difference in clinical outcomes compari...

Breast cancer is both a common (27.6% of female cancers, 2831 cases in NSW in 1991) and fatal (18.8% of female deaths from cancer, 900 deaths in NSW in 1991) condition(49). The disease is frequently the subject of papers. Unfortunately many are retrospective analyses that at best indicate promising therapies. Randomised trials in breast cancer are increasing in number. Only 2-3% of women with b...

The process by which new therapies enter clinical practice is frequently suboptimal. Often, ideas for new therapies are generated by clinical observations or laboratory studies; therapies based on those ideas may enter clinical practice without any further scrutiny. As a consequence, some ineffective practices become widespread. This article proposes a six-stage protocol for the implementation ...