Increase in recruitment upon integration of trial into a clinical care pathway: an observational study

Many respiratory clinical trials fail to reach their recruitment target and this problem exacerbates existing funding issues. Integration of the clinical trial recruitment process into a clinical care pathway (CCP) may represent an effective way to significantly increase recruitment numbers.

A respiratory support unit and a CCP for escalation of patients with severe COVID-19 were established on 11 January 2021. The recruitment process for the Randomised Evaluation of COVID-19 Therapy-Respiratory Support trial was integrated into the CCP on the same date. Recruitment data for the trial were collected before and after integration into the CCP.

On integration of the recruitment process into a CCP, there was a significant increase in recruitment numbers. Fifty patients were recruited over 266 days before this process occurred whereas 108 patients were recruited over 49 days after this process. There was a statistically significant increase in both the proportion of recruited patients relative to the number of COVID-19 hospital admissions (change from 2.8% to 9.1%, p<0.0001) and intensive therapy unit admissions (change from 17.8% to 50.2%, p<0.001) over the same period, showing that this increase in recruitment was independent of COVID-19 prevalence.

Integrating the trial recruitment process into a CCP can significantly boost recruitment numbers. This represents an innovative model that can be used to maximise recruitment without impacting on the financial and labour costs associated with the running of a respiratory clinical trial.