Background
Methods
Data sources and collection
Data extraction
Term | Definition |
---|---|
Target population | Location and characteristics of potentially eligible individuals, representing the patient population to whom the results of the RCT are expected to apply |
Eligibility fraction | Proportion of potential participants who undergo screening and are eligible to enrol in the RCT |
Enrolment fraction | Proportion of people who are eligible for participation and who actually enrol in the RCT |
Recruitment fraction | Proportion of potential participants who actually enrol in the RCT |
Number of patients needed to be screened (NNS) | Number of patients screened in order to randomise one participant (equal to 1/recruitment fraction) |
Statistical Analysis
Results
Descriptive statistics
Characteristic | Total Trials (%) | Trials That Reported Target Population | Trials That Reported Number of Patients Eligible |
---|---|---|---|
Total RCTs
| 148 (100) | 103 (70) | 119 (80) |
Journal
| |||
BMJ | 58 (39) | 44 (39) | 50 (42) |
British Journal of General Practice | 46 (31.0) | 31 (30) | 36 (30) |
Family Practice | 24 (16) | 17 (15) | 19 (16) |
Journal of Family Practice | 20 (14) | 11 (17) | 14 (12) |
Number of enrolees
| |||
<100 | 48 (32) | 40 (39) | 44 (37) |
110–260 | 51 (34) | 31 (30) | 37 (31) |
260–650 | 24 (16) | 15 (15) | 19 (16) |
>650 | 25 (17) | 17 (17) | 19 (16) |
Multicentre
| |||
Multiple | 116 (79) | 83 (81) | 94 (80) |
Single | 27 (18) | 16 (16) | 21 (18) |
Unclear | 4 (3) | 3 (3) | 3 (3) |
Funding Source
| |||
Charity | 15 (13) | 10 (12) | 13 (14) |
Governing body | 5 (4) | 3 (4) | 3 (3) |
Government | 66 (57) | 55 (65) | 60 (63) |
Pharmaceutical Industry | 15 (12) | 8 (9) | 10 (10) |
Other | 14 (13) | 9 (11) | 10 (10) |
Intervention Studied | |||
Counselling/Lifestyle | 11 (8) | 8 (8) | 10 (8) |
Decision Support aids | 7 (5) | 6 (6) | 7 (6) |
Educational | 26 (18) | 21 (21) | 23 (14) |
Pharmaceutical therapy | 23 (16) | 9 (9) | 11 (9) |
Surgery/procedure | 3 (2.0) | 3 (3) | 3 (3) |
Other | 76 (52) | 55 (54) | 64 (54) |
Recruitment statistics
Data | Trials That Reported Data | Median | Interquartile Range |
---|---|---|---|
n | % | ||
Eligibility Fraction
| 102 | 83 | 40–100 |
Enrolment Fraction
| 119 | 74 | 49–92 |
Recruitment Fraction
| 103 | 41 | 16–71 |
Characteristics | Total Trials | Median Number Needed to Screen to Identify One Participant (Interquartile Range) | P Value |
---|---|---|---|
Total | 103 | ||
Journal | 0.78 | ||
BMJ | 44 | 2.95 (1.42–9.30) | |
British Journal of General Practice | 31 | 2.30 (1.38–4.42) | |
Family Practice | 17 | 1.81 (1.23–3.46) | |
Journal of Family Practice | 11 | 2.79 (1.95–7.92) | |
Number of enrolees | 0.40 | ||
<100 | 40 | 3.15 (1.63–5.64) | |
110–260 | 31 | 2.19 (1.22–9.95) | |
260–650 | 15 | 1.66 (1.32–3.11) | |
>650 | 17 | 2.78 (1.38–5.16) | |
Multicentre | |||
Multiple | 83 | 2.79 (1.42–6.33) | |
Single | 16 | 2.05 (1.18–7.83) | |
Unclear | 3 | 1.66 (1.60–5.95) | |
Funding Source
| 0.09 | ||
Charity | 10 | 2.61 (1.23–4.48) | |
Governing body | 3 | 1.60(1.60–6.06) | |
Government | 55 | 2.14 (1.34–6.33) | |
Pharma Industry | 8 | 3.98 (2.10–15.59) | |
Other | 9 | 5.33 (1.95–7.92) | |
Not Listed | 18 | 2.62 (1.23–3.48) | |
Intervention Studied
| 0.47 | ||
Counselling/Lifestyle | 8 | 4.75 (2.05–169.71) | |
Decision Support aids | 6 | 2.89 (1.42–17.21) | |
Educational | 21 | 2.05 (1.34–3.63) | |
Pharmaceutical therapy | 9 | 1.89 (1.66–5.16) | |
Surgery/procedure | 3 | 1.59 (1.11–9.95) | |
Other | 55 | 2.79 (1.42–6.38) |
Characteristics | Data required to calculate NNS provided in report, n(%) | Odds Ratio (95% CI) | P Value | |
---|---|---|---|---|
NO | YES | |||
(n = 45) | (n = 103) | |||
Journal
| 0.37 | |||
BMJ | 14 (31) | 44 (43) | - | |
British Journal of General Practice | 15 (33) | 31 (30) | 0.66 (0.28 to 1.56) | |
Family Practice | 7 (16) | 17 (16) | 0.77 (0.27 to 2.24) | |
Journal of Family Practice | 9 (20) | 11 (11) | 0.39 (0.13 to 1.13) | |
Number of enrolees
| 0.09 | |||
<100 | 8 (18) | 40 (39) | - | |
110–260 | 20 (44) | 31 (30) | 0.31 (0.12 to 0.80) | |
260–650 | 9 (20) | 15 (15) | 0.33 (0.11 to 1.02) | |
>650 | 8 (18) | 17 (16) | 0.42 (0.14 to 1.32) | |
Multicentre
| 0.45 | |||
Multiple | 33 (73) | 83 (81) | - | |
Single | 11 (24) | 16 (16) | 0.58 (0.24 to 1.38) | |
Unclear | 1 (2) | 3 (3) | 1.19 (0.12 to 11.88) | |
Funding Source | ||||
Charity | 5 (11) | 10 (10) | - | |
Governing body | 2 (4) | 3 (3) | 0.75 (0.09 to 6.04) | |
Government | 11 (24) | 55 (53) | 2.5 (0.71 to 8.76) | |
Pharmaceutical Industry | 7 (16) | 8 (8) | 0.57 (0.13 to 2.50) | |
Other | 5 (11) | 9 (9) | 0.9 (0.19 to 4.17) | |
Not Listed | 15 (33) | 18 (17) | 0.6 (0.17 to 2.14) | |
Intervention Studied
| 0.02 | |||
Counselling/Lifestyle | 3 (7) | 8 (8) | - | |
Decision Support aids | 1 (2) | 6 (6) | 2.25 (0.18 to 27.37) | |
Educational | 5(11) | 21 (21) | 1.56 (0.30 to 8.17) | |
Pharmaceutical therapy | 14 (32) | 9 (9) | 0.24 (0.05 to 1.16) | |
Surgery/procedure | 0 (0) | 3 (3) | undefined | |
Other | 21 (48) | 55 (54) | 0.98 (0.24 to 4.06) |