The clinical application of medical science research: investment and duration

Several obstacles hamper the clinical application of basic medical scientific research. Of reports published in 6 major basic science journals between 1979 and 1983, only 27 were translated into published randomized trials within 10 years of their initial publication. To evaluate changes in frequencies and time required for the clinical application of basic medical science research over a 10-year period, we conducted a literature search of articles published between 1989 and 1993 in eight major medical journals containing words related to clinical application in their titles or abstracts. Articles were evaluated based on whether their findings resulted in clinical application. Primary outcome was the time until translation to clinical application, which was defined as drug approval or publication of positive randomized trials. Of the 202 medical science articles identified, clinical application was eventually reported for 22. Mean time until clinical application was 22.4 years, which was longer than the 10 years previously reported (p<0.021). No marked differences were noted in background content between the articles that resulted in clinical application and those that did not, except for the implication of promising technologies. The prevalence of clinical application was lower and the duration until clinical application was longer than 10 years ago. Promising technologies should be carefully evaluated before study funds are allocated for clinical application.