How I do it: a practical database management system to assist clinical research teams with data collection,...

The objective of this study was to demonstrate that an intra-arterial liver therapy clinical research database system is a more workflow efficient and robust tool for clinical research than a spreadsheet storage system. The database system could be used to generate clinical research study populations easily with custom search and retrieval criteria.

A questionnaire was designed and distributed to 21 board-certified radiologists to assess current data storage problems and clinician reception to a database management system. Based on the questionnaire findings, a customized database and user interface system were created to perform automatic calculations of clinical scores including staging systems such as the Child-Pugh and Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer, and facilitates data input and output.

Questionnaire participants were favorable to a database system. The interface retrieved study-relevant data accurately and effectively. The database effectively produced easy-to-read study-specific patient populations with custom-defined inclusion/exclusion criteria.

The database management system is workflow efficient and robust in retrieving, storing, and analyzing data.