Contemporary clinical trials
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Contemp Clin Trials · Jul 2014
Randomized Controlled TrialA randomized trial of diet in men with early stage prostate cancer on active surveillance: rationale and design of the Men's Eating and Living (MEAL) Study (CALGB 70807 [Alliance]).
Diet may substantially alter prostate cancer initiation and progression. However, large-scale clinical trials of diet modification have yet to be performed for prostate cancer. The Men's Eating and Living (MEAL) Study (CALGB 70807 [Alliance]) is investigating the effect of increased vegetable consumption on clinical progression in men with localized prostate cancer. ⋯ The MEAL Study is assessing the effectiveness of a high-vegetable diet intervention for preventing clinical progression in men with localized prostate cancer on active surveillance.
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Contemp Clin Trials · Jul 2014
Randomized Controlled TrialDevelopment and implementation of a telehealth-enhanced intervention for pain and symptom management.
Managing chronic pain effectively is often challenging for health care providers and patients. Telehealth technologies can bridge geographic distance and improve patients' quality of care in communities where access to pain specialists has previously been unavailable. This paper describes the development and evaluation of a telehealth intervention (TelePain) designed to address the need for pain specialist consultation regarding pain and symptom management issues in non-academic medical centers. ⋯ Symptom management recommendations for each patient case are made by a panel of pain specialists representing internal medicine, addiction medicine, rehabilitation medicine, anesthesiology, psychiatry, and nursing. The outcomes assessed in this randomized trial focus on pain intensity, pain's interference on function and sleep, and anxiety, depression, and cost-effectiveness. Some of the challenges and lessons that we have learned early in implementing the TelePain intervention are also reported.
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Contemp Clin Trials · May 2014
Pilot and feasibility studies: is there a difference from each other and from a randomised controlled trial?
A crucial part in the development of any intervention is the preliminary work carried out prior to a large-scale definitive trial. However, the definitions of these terms are not clear cut and many authors redefine them. Because of this, the terms feasibility and pilot are often misused. ⋯ We believe that the term 'feasibility' should be used as an overarching term for preliminary studies and the term 'pilot' refers to a specific type of study which resembles the intended trial in aspects such as, having a control group and randomisation. However, studies labelled 'pilot' should have different aims and objectives to main trials and also should include an intention for future work. Researchers should not use the title 'pilot' for a trial which evaluates a treatment effect.
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Contemp Clin Trials · May 2014
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Clinical TrialImproving efficiency and reducing costs: Design of an adaptive, seamless, and enriched pragmatic efficacy trial of an online asthma management program.
Clinical trials are critical for medical decision-making, however, under the current paradigm, clinical trials are fraught with problems including low enrollment and high cost. Promising alternatives to increase trial efficiency and reduce costs include the use of (1) electronic initiatives that permit electronic remote data capture (EDC) for direct data collection at a site (2), electronic medical records (EMR) for patient identification and data collection, and (3) adaptive, enrichment designs with pragmatic approaches. We describe the design of a seamless, multi-site randomized Phase II/III trial to evaluate an asthma management intervention in urban adolescents with asthma. ⋯ A centralized database with EDC is used for CRF data collection with integration of EMR data. This Phase II/III trial plans to have a total sample size of 500 patients with an interim look at the completion of Phase II (n=250), The interim analyses include an assessment of the intervention effect, marker(s) identification and the feasibility study of EMR data as the trial CRF data collection. Patient enrollment has begun and is ongoing.
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Contemp Clin Trials · May 2014
Randomized Controlled TrialThe Vitamin D Antenatal Asthma Reduction Trial (VDAART): rationale, design, and methods of a randomized, controlled trial of vitamin D supplementation in pregnancy for the primary prevention of asthma and allergies in children.
There is intense interest in the role of vitamin D in the development of asthma and allergies. However, studies differ on whether a higher vitamin D intake or status in pregnancy or at birth is protective against asthma and allergies. To address this uncertainty, the Vitamin D Antenatal Asthma Reduction Trial (VDAART) was developed. ⋯ Monthly monitoring of urinary calcium to creatinine ratio was performed in addition to medical record review for adverse events. Offspring are being evaluated quarterly through questionnaires and yearly during in-person visits until the 3rd birthday of the child. Ancillary studies will investigate neonatal T-regulatory cell function, maternal vaginal flora, and maternal and child intestinal flora.