Prevalence of control groups in cardiovascular clinical trials: An analysis of ClinicalTrials.gov from 2009 through 2019

Am Heart J. 2021 Apr:234:133-135. doi: 10.1016/j.ahj.2020.12.006. Epub 2021 Jan 23.

Abstract

Clinical trials provide the foundational evidence that guide many patient-facing decisions; however, the therapeutic effect and safety of an intervention is best evaluated when compared to a control group. We used ClinicalTrials.gov to describe the proportion of registered Phase III and IV cardiovascular clinical trials that contain a control group from 2009 through 2019. Of 1,677 registered Phase III and IV cardiovascular clinical trials, 81.2% contain a control group, and the annual prevalence remained unchanged between 2009 and 2019.

Publication types

  • Letter
  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Cardiovascular Diseases / therapy*
  • Clinical Trials, Phase III as Topic / statistics & numerical data*
  • Clinical Trials, Phase IV as Topic / statistics & numerical data*
  • Control Groups*
  • Databases, Factual / statistics & numerical data*
  • Humans
  • National Library of Medicine (U.S.) / statistics & numerical data*
  • United States