Early termination of cardiovascular trials as a consequence of poor accrual: analysis of ClinicalTrials.gov 2006-2015

BMJ Open. 2017 Jun 15;7(6):e013482. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2016-013482.

Abstract

Objectives: To present a snapshot of experimental cardiovascular research with a focus on geographical and temporal patterns of early termination due to poor accrual.

Setting: The Aggregate Analysis of ClinicalTrials.gov (AACT) database, reflecting ClinicalTrials.gov as of 27 March 2016.

Design: The AACT database was searched for all cardiovascular clinical trials that started from January 2006 up to December 2015.

Results: Thirteen thousand and seven hundred twenty-nine cardiovascular trials were identified. Of these, 8900 (65%) were classified as closed studies. Globally, 11% of closed trials were terminated. This proportion varied from 9.6% to 14% for trials recruiting from Europe and Americas, respectively, with a slightly decreasing trend (p=0.02) over the study period. The most common reason for trials failing to complete was poor accrual (41%). Intercontinental trials exhibited lower figures of poor accrual as the reason for their early stopping, as compared with trials recruiting in a single continent (28% vs 44%, p=0.002).

Conclusions: Poor accrual significantly challenges the successful completion of cardiovascular clinical trials. Findings are suggestive of a positive effect of globalisation of cardiovascular clinical research on the achievement of enrolment goals within a reasonable time frame.

Keywords: Clinical trials; EPIDEMIOLOGY; STATISTICS & RESEARCH METHODS.

MeSH terms

  • Biomedical Research*
  • Cardiovascular Diseases*
  • Clinical Trials as Topic*
  • Databases, Factual
  • Early Termination of Clinical Trials / statistics & numerical data*
  • Global Health*
  • Humans
  • International Cooperation
  • Research Design
  • Selection Bias