Trials
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Initiating change locally in bullying and aggression through the school environment (INCLUSIVE): study protocol for a cluster randomised controlled trial.
Systematic reviews suggest that interventions that address school organisation are effective in reducing victimisation and bullying. We successfully piloted a school environment intervention modified from international studies to incorporate 'restorative justice' approaches. This trial aims to establish the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the INCLUSIVE intervention in reducing aggression and bullying in English secondary schools. ⋯ The trial will be run by independent research and intervention teams and supervised by a Trial Steering Committee and a Data Monitoring Committee (DMC).
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Acupuncture at local and distal points for chronic shoulder pain: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.
Chronic shoulder pain (CSP) is the third most common type of musculoskeletal pain. It has a major impact on health-related quality of life. In Chinese medicine, CSP is considered one of the conditions most amenable to treatment with acupuncture. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of local acupoints in combination with distal acupoints in pain relief and shoulder function improvement in CSP patients. ⋯ This trial will be helpful in identifying whether acupuncture at local acupoints in combination with distal acupoints may be more effective than needling points separately.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
The effect of mannitol on intraoperative brain relaxation in patients undergoing supratentorial tumor surgery: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.
The risk of brain swelling after dural opening is high in patients with midline shift undergoing supratentorial tumor surgery. Brain swelling may result in increased intracranial pressure, impeded tumor exposure, and adverse outcomes. Mannitol is recommended as a first-line dehydration treatment to reduce brain edema and enable brain relaxation during neurosurgery. Research has indicated that mannitol enhanced brain relaxation in patients undergoing supratentorial tumor surgery; however, these results need further confirmation, and the optimal mannitol dose has not yet been established. We propose to examine whether different doses of 20% mannitol improve brain relaxation in a dose-dependent manner when administered at the time of incision. We will examine patients with preexisting mass effects and midline shift undergoing elective supratentorial brain tumor surgery. ⋯ The aim of this study is to determine the optimal dose of 20% mannitol for intraoperative infusion. We will examine brain relaxation and outcome in patients undergoing supratentorial tumor surgery. If our results are positive, the study will indicate the optimal dose of mannitol to improve brain relaxation and avoid side effects during brain tumor surgery.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Pragmatic Clinical Trial
Coping with persistent pain, effectiveness research into self-management (COPERS): statistical analysis plan for a randomised controlled trial.
The Coping with Persistent Pain, Effectiveness Research into Self-management (COPERS) trial assessed whether a group-based self-management course is effective in reducing pain-related disability in participants with chronic musculoskeletal pain. This article describes the statistical analysis plan for the COPERS trial. ⋯ COPERS was a pragmatic, multicentre, unmasked, parallel group, randomised controlled trial. This article describes (a) the overall analysis principles (including which participants will be included in each analysis, how results will be presented, which covariates will be adjusted for, and how we will account for clustering in the intervention group); (b) the primary and secondary outcomes, and how each outcome will be analysed; (c) sensitivity analyses; (d) subgroup analyses; and (e) adherence-adjusted analyses.
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Critical commentaries suggest that wound care randomised controlled trials (RCTs) are often poorly reported with many methodological flaws. Furthermore, interventions in chronic wounds, rather than being drugs, are often medical devices for which there are no requirements for RCTs to bring products to market. RCTs in wounds trials therefore potentially represent a form of marketing. This study presents a methodological overview of chronic wound trials published between 2004 and 2011 and investigates the influence of industry funding on methodological quality. ⋯ This overview confirms concerns raised about the methodological quality of RCTs in wound care and illustrates that greater efforts must be made to follow international standards for conducting and reporting RCTs. There is currently minimal evidence of an influence of industry funding on methodological quality although analyses had limited power and funding source was not reported for a quarter of studies.