What trials do the NHS spend their...( The NHS Trusts Clinical Trials Register...),Health

Randomised controlled trials are considered the gold standard of research providing evidence on which future treatment can be based. In order to encourage patient recruitment into trials, there is also an increasing need to publicise the existence of trials and to keep the information about individual trials up-to-date and patient friendly.

The register, supported by the Department of Health, is an attempt to identify the randomised controlled trials that are currently funded by the NHS in England at Trust level. To qualify, the trial must:

• Be taking place in England
• With an end date after 31 March 2003
• Be in a location that is the lead centre in the case of a multicentre trial
• Not be part of a nationally or regionally funded programme, or funded by a charity or a commercial company
• Have all research costs fully met by the NHS Trust's internal research and development budget

To make sure that the trials are identified unambiguously, they have all been assigned an International Standard Randomised Controlled Trial Number (ISRCTN; http://www.controlled-trials.com/isrctn/) according to the numbering scheme developed by Current Controlled Trials. The ISRCTN helps to track all publications and reports resulting from each trial.

Information about randomised controlled trials is already included in the National Research Register (NRR; http://www.update-software.com/National/), a register of ongoing and recently completed research projec
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Contact: Anne Greenwood
info@controlled-trials.com
44-207-323-0323
BioMed Central
21-Oct-2003