Journal of medical Internet research
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J. Med. Internet Res. · Feb 2004
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical TrialCan clinical trials requiring frequent participant contact be conducted over the Internet? Results from an online randomized controlled trial evaluating a topical ointment for herpes labialis.
The Internet has tremendous appeal for conducting randomized clinical trials and may be especially applicable to trials requiring frequent participant contact. Trials of cold sore remedies, for example, often require daily clinic visits during outbreaks, imposing substantial burden on participants. An Internet-based randomized clinical trial design may reduce this burden, permitting frequent symptom reports with considerably less effort. ⋯ We efficiently recruited participants and achieved high overall retention rates. However, participant adherence to the daily outbreak visit schedules was low and only 7 (50%) participants used the cream as directed. These limitations could be addressed in future Internet-based studies by using Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), using reminder devices, and providing incentives. By enhancing participant adherence, clinical trials requiring frequent participant contact may be feasible over the Internet.