Article type
Year
Abstract
Background:
The South Asian Database of Controlled Clinical Trials (SADCCT) is a free-to-access collection of trials published in journals in the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) region. Many trials conducted in this region are not available in commonly searched databases and exclusion of these trials from systematic reviews may lead to biased conclusions, rendering the reviews unreliable and potentially irrelevant and invalid to healthcare decision making in SAARC countries.
Objectives:
To describe the development and growth of the SADCCT.
Methods:
We identified potential controlled clinical trials by searching electronic databases and other medical journals of the SAARC region (see Figure 1).
Results:
SADCCT currently contains 2961 records of controlled clinical trials from 168 journals. Country coverage of journals and their indexing status is shown in Figure 2. This consists of 1587 randomized controlled trials and 1375 controlled clinical trials. Time trends for publication of the trials for India and Pakistan (1990-2013), which contribute the largest number of trials to SADCCT, is shown in Figure 3. SADCCT has so far contributed 1859 trial records to the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL). There are more than 2030 new trial records that have been identified that will be added to SADCCT by the end of this year when the currently ongoing second phase is over. These records have been identified by updating records from previously covered journals, seven new journals that have been added in SADCCT, conference abstracts and dissertations available online.
Conclusions:
SADCCT is a free-to-access resource for controlled clinical trials from the SAARC region. The number of trials has increased in the region, especially in India, thereby underlining the need for synthesised research as well as such a database. Many of these hitherto unidentified trials can now be considered for inclusion in systematic reviews of the effects of interventions in healthcare conditions relevant to people in the region and thus become more relevant in informing health care and health policy in the SAARC region.
The South Asian Database of Controlled Clinical Trials (SADCCT) is a free-to-access collection of trials published in journals in the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) region. Many trials conducted in this region are not available in commonly searched databases and exclusion of these trials from systematic reviews may lead to biased conclusions, rendering the reviews unreliable and potentially irrelevant and invalid to healthcare decision making in SAARC countries.
Objectives:
To describe the development and growth of the SADCCT.
Methods:
We identified potential controlled clinical trials by searching electronic databases and other medical journals of the SAARC region (see Figure 1).
Results:
SADCCT currently contains 2961 records of controlled clinical trials from 168 journals. Country coverage of journals and their indexing status is shown in Figure 2. This consists of 1587 randomized controlled trials and 1375 controlled clinical trials. Time trends for publication of the trials for India and Pakistan (1990-2013), which contribute the largest number of trials to SADCCT, is shown in Figure 3. SADCCT has so far contributed 1859 trial records to the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL). There are more than 2030 new trial records that have been identified that will be added to SADCCT by the end of this year when the currently ongoing second phase is over. These records have been identified by updating records from previously covered journals, seven new journals that have been added in SADCCT, conference abstracts and dissertations available online.
Conclusions:
SADCCT is a free-to-access resource for controlled clinical trials from the SAARC region. The number of trials has increased in the region, especially in India, thereby underlining the need for synthesised research as well as such a database. Many of these hitherto unidentified trials can now be considered for inclusion in systematic reviews of the effects of interventions in healthcare conditions relevant to people in the region and thus become more relevant in informing health care and health policy in the SAARC region.