OBJECTIVE The researchers sought to assess whether the widely used 1994 Cochrane Highly Sensitive Search Strategy (HSSS) for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in MEDLINE could be improved in terms of sensitivity, precision, or parsimony. METHODS A gold standard of 1,347 RCT records and a comparison group of 2,400 non-trials were randomly selected from MEDLINE. Terms occurring in at least 1%...

Data were from a randomized controlled trial (RCT) comparing two modes of BFST-D delivery: in clinic versus internet videoconferencing. There were no significant differences between groups in the RCT, so groups were collapsed into a within-group prepost design for secondary analyses. A multiple regression analysis was performed to test for mediation of treatment outcomes by changes in family pr...

Background: The calculation of the sample size is one of the most important steps in designing a randomized controlled trial. The purpose of this study is drawing the attention of researchers to the importance of calculating and reporting the sample size in randomized controlled trials.    Methods: We reviewed related literature and guidelines and discussed some important issues in s...

Randomized controlled trials (RCT) are the optimal study design to answer intervention questions. The authors evaluated the number, quality, and coverage of RCT in nephrology. MEDLINE was searched using the relevant medical subject headings for nephrology and 12 major specialties in internal medicine, limited by "randomized controlled trial" as a publication type. A random selection of 160 RCT ...

Background: Microdermabrasion has recently become a popular procedure among physicians and patients, whereas few studies have assessed the efficacy of different microdermabrasion protocols nowadays applied.The objective of this study was to assess the effects of microdermabrasion, as well as to compare the effects of weekly and biweekly intervals of microdermabrasion sessions on skin biophysica...

Cluster randomized controlled trial (RCT), in which groups or clusters of individuals rather than individuals themselves are randomized, are increasingly common. Indeed, for the evaluation of certain types of intervention (such as those used in health promotion and educational interventions) a cluster randomized trial is virtually the only valid approach. However, cluster trials are generally m...

The randomized controlled trial (RCT) methodology is often considered to reveal the most accurate data on a product’s safety and effectiveness. However, the value of an RCT post-approval is limited as clinical trial cohorts rarely represent the general patient population in real-life settings. Observational studies on the other hand yield better evaluations for safety and effectiveness in routi...

Limitations of the NOAC randomized controlled trial (RCT) evidence base The multinational NOAC RCTs demonstrated noninferiority to warfarin at and below the following mean international normalized ratio (INR) time in therapeutic range (TTR): 64% for dabigatran in the RELY (Randomized Evaluation of Long-term Anticoagulation Therapy) trial ; 55% for rivaroxaban in the Rocket-AF (Rivaroxaban Once ...

A clinical trial may be defined as a ‘‘planned experiment’’ that involves patients, and it is designed to elucidate the most appropriate treatment of future patients with a given medical condition. The first step in designing a clinical trial is to select the best study type. The major types are the case report, the case series, case control studies, cohort study, and the most rigorous of all s...