Result dissemination from clinical trials conducted at German university medical centers was delayed and incomplete

J Clin Epidemiol. 2019 Nov:115:37-45. doi: 10.1016/j.jclinepi.2019.06.002. Epub 2019 Jun 10.

Abstract

Objectives: Timely and comprehensive reporting of clinical trial results builds the backbone of evidence-based medicine and responsible research. The proportion of timely disseminated trial results can inform alternative national and international benchmarking of university medical centers (UMCs).

Study design and setting: For all German UMCs, we tracked all registered trials completed between 2009 and 2013. The results and an interactive website benchmark German UMCs regarding their performance in result dissemination.

Results: We identified and tracked 2,132 clinical trials. For 1,509 trials, one of the German UMCs took the academic lead. Of these 1,509 "lead trials," 39% published their results (mostly via journal publications) in a timely manner (<24 months after completion). More than 6 years after study completion, 26% of all eligible lead trials still had not disseminated results.

Conclusion: Despite substantial attention from many stakeholders to the topic, there is still a strong delay or even absence of result dissemination for many trials. German UMCs have several opportunities to improve this situation. Further research should evaluate whether and how a transparent benchmarking of UMC performance in result dissemination helps to increase value and reduce waste in medical research.

Keywords: Cross-sectional study; Evidence-based medicine; Good scientific practice; Publication bias; Result reporting; Trial registration.

MeSH terms

  • Academic Medical Centers
  • Benchmarking
  • Clinical Trials as Topic*
  • Evidence-Based Medicine
  • Germany
  • Humans
  • Publishing / statistics & numerical data*
  • Time Factors