AFRO-NETS> Conducting clinical trials over the internet: feasibility study

[Dr Rana Jawad Asghar <jawad@alumni.washington.edu>]

Conducting clinical trials over the internet: feasibility study
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An interesting article about a new approach for clinical trials.
 
Dr Rana Jawad Asghar
Program Manager Child Survival, Mozambique
Provincial Coordinator Sofala Province, Mozambique
Health Alliance International, Seattle, WA, USA
http://depts.washington.edu/haiuw/
Coordinator South Asian Public Health Forum
mailto:jawad@alumni.washington.edu
http://www.DrJawad.com
 
 
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BMJ 2003;327:484-487 (30 August)
 
Information in practice
 
Conducting clinical trials over the internet: feasibility study
 
Tim McAlindon, chief1, Margaret Formica, research associate1, Karim 
Kabbara, computer programmer2, Michael LaValley, associate profes-
sor2, Melissa Lehmer, research assistant2 
 
1 Division of Rheumatology, Tufts-New England Medical Center, Box 
406, 715 Washington Street, Boston, MA 02111, USA, 
 
2 Clinical Epidemiology Research and Training Unit, Boston University 
School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02118
 

Can randomised controlled trials be successfully conducted over the 
internet? The authors report a feasibility study of such a trial in 
patients with osteoarthritis of the knee
 
Summary points
 
The possibility of conducting clinical trials on line is a relatively 
unexplored application of the internet
 
For online trials to be methodologically appealing they must be fea-
sible, efficient, and valid
 
More than 1200 people applied on line to take part in a trial of glu-
cosamine in osteoarthritis of the knee
 
Of 205 participants randomised, approximately 80% completed the trial
 
The estimated cost of the trial was about half that of a hospital 
based approach
 
The requirement for written consent and medical records slowed down 
the progress of the trial
 
Most participants had a positive view of the trial and would be happy 
to participate in another such trial in the future
 
Complete article at:
http://bmj.com/cgi/content/full/327/7413/484?etoc

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