Clinical Trials
A clinical trial is a carefully designed clinical study of the safety and efficacy of
diagnostic, therapeutic, or prophylactic drugs, devices, or techniques administered to
human subjects. The goal is to define the clinical efficacy and pharmacologic effects
(toxicity, side effects, incompatibilities, or interactions) of the drug, device, or
technique. The U.S. government requires strict testing of all new drugs prior to their
approval for use as therapeutic agents.
Searching for clinical trials in the journal literature
Journal articles that discuss clinical trials as a method in medical research may be
found using Index Medicus
or
PubMed. Look in the subject section of the index under one of these subject headings: clinical
trials; clinical trials, phase I; clinical trials, phase II; clinical trials, phase III;
clinical trials, phase IV; controlled clinical trials; or randomized controlled trials.
The print indexes index more journals than the library subscribes to. When you find an
article you want, be sure to check the online catalog to be sure the library has the
journal.
These same subject headings may be used when searching the database MEDLINE. These instructions are for use
with the Ovid search interface.
Start by using the database to find the clinical trial subject
heading that you want to search, such as "Asthma". After
you have found your topic, click on the limit
button. Select the publication type limit from the box on the screen, then select
clinical trial from the values in the box. This will retrieve a set of
articles that discuss actual clinical trials. If any of your searches
retrieve too many citations, use the limit button again to narrow your
search by language, publication year, review article, human, etc. The
databases index more journals than the library subscribes to. When you find
an article you want, be sure to check the online catalog
to see whether or not the library subscribes to that journal.
Maintained by the National Institute on Aging's Alzheimer's Disease Education and
Referral Center, this database provides information on clinical trials on Alzheimer's
disease and dementia currently in progress in the U.S.
Clinical trial information from the National Cancer Institute
NCI provides clinical trial information for both patients and physicians on its
CancerTrials website.
The U.S. National Institutes of Health, through its National Library of Medicine, has developed
ClinicalTrials.gov to provide patients, family members and members of the public current information about clinical research studies.
Center Watch
Center Watch is a publishing company that
focuses on the clinical trials industry. This site lists clinical trials by disease
categories.
OncoLink
OncoLink is an
online resource on cancer from the University of Pennsylvania. This site lists many cancer
related clinical trials.
Informed Consent
Patients interested in participating in clinical trials
might wish to review the following book:
Informed consent : a guide to the risks and benefits of volunteering for
clinical trials
W
20.55
H9 G394i
2002
©
The University of Kansas Medical Center