Is your trial registered?

In 2004, the International Committee for Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) announced that registration of clinical trials would be a precondition of consideration for publication in any of their medical journals [1]. The purpose of this initiative was to prevent selective publication of clinical studies and to ensure transparency of medical research that involved experimental interventions in humans. In recent years, clinical trial registration has gained substantial acceptance thoughout the medical community and several clinical trial registries have been established. The largest of these, the ClinicalTrials.gov database in the United States, now contains information about more than 100 000 clinical trials from around the world [2].

References

• 1 De Angelis C, Drazen J M, Frizelle F A et al. Clinical trial registration: a statement from the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors.  N Engl J Med. 2004;  352 1250-1251
• 2 Zarin D A, Tse T, Williams R et al. The ClinicalTrials.gov results database – update and key issues.  N Engl J Med. 2011;  364 852-860
• 3 International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (ICTRP) .Geneva: World Health Organization.  Accessed June 7, 2011, at http://www.who.int/ictrp/about/details/en/index.html
• 4 Laine C, Horten R, DeAngelis C D et al. Clinical trial registration: looking back and moving ahead.  N Engl J Med. 2007;  356 2734-2736