OBJECTIVES Findings from nonrandomized studies on safety or efficacy of treatment in patient subgroups may trigger postlaunch randomized clinical trials (RCTs). In the analysis of such RCTs, results from nonrandomized studies are typically ignored. This study explores the trade-off between bias and power of Bayesian RCT analysis incorporating information from nonrandomized studies. STUDY DESI...

Randomized clinical trial (RCT) study design leads to one of the highest levels of evidence, and is a preferred study design over cohort studies, because randomization reduces bias and maximizes the chance that even unknown confounding factors will be balanced between treatment groups. Recent randomized clinical trials and observational studies in amblyopia can be taken together to formulate an...

The randomized clinical trial (RCT) and systematic review underpin evidence-based medicine. They are perceived to provide the strongest evidence on interventions—when viewed as part of an evidence hierarchy, and are generally accepted as such, in clinical medicine. Yet, they are perceived to have limited currency in health promotion practice. Those trying to build bridges across these fields ha...

BACKGROUND Recent evidence has highlighted deficiencies in clinical trial protocols, having implications for many groups. Existing guidelines for randomized clinical trial (RCT) protocol content vary substantially and most do not describe systematic methodology for their development. As one of three prespecified steps for the systematic development of a guideline for trial protocol content, the...

OBJECTIVE Acupuncture is often used and frequently advocated for the symptomatic treatment of fibromyalgia. A systematic review has previously demonstrated encouraging findings. As it is now outdated, we wanted to update it. METHODS We searched seven electronic databases for relevant randomized clinical trials (RCTs). The data were extracted and validated independently by both authors. As no ...

Background Decisions by leading journals to require trial registration and to make protocols of phase III randomized clinical trials (RCTs) publicly accessible were landmark events in clinical trial reporting. Materials and Methods We identified phase III cancer RCTs published between 2013 and 2015 in New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), The Lancet, The lancet Oncology, JAMA and Journal of...

Subgroup analyses of major randomized clinical trials in heart failure are published frequently, but their impact on medical knowledge and practice guidelines has not been previously reported. In a novel analysis, we determined number of citations, impact factors, number of authors, and citations in guidelines of both parent trials and sub-studies; we also qualitatively assessed whether the ana...

OBJECTIVE The objective of this systematic review was to assess the effectiveness of yoga as a treatment option for asthma. METHOD Seven databases were searched from their inception to October 2010. Randomized clinical trials (RCTs) and non-randomized clinical trials (NRCTs) were considered, if they investigated any type of yoga in patients with asthma. The selection of studies, data extracti...