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Randomised clinical trials in the Scandinavian Journal of Rheumatology
V Olesen1, L Engell, K L Jensen
1The Nordic Cochrane Centre, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Objective:
To identify all reports of randomised clinical trials in the Journal and compare our findings with reports available in Medline.
Methods:
We handsearched the Scandinavian Journal of Rheumatology with supplements for the years 1955-1997 to identify reports of randomised clinical trials and controlled clinical trials.
Results:
We identified 445 trial reports. In Medline, 134 of these trials (30%) were indexed as randomised or controlled trials; an additional 50 trials (11%) were available in Medline but were indexed differently. Thus, 261 of the trials (59%) we identified were not indexed in Medline; most of these trials were published in supplements to the Journal.
Conclusion:
Handsearching of medical journals for randomised trials can be a worthwhile effort. Clinicians and patients will become better informed about the value of different treatment options and researchers will reduce their risk of performing trials that are unnecessary.