Looking for opportunities to co-enroll: The DISCOVERY study experience

Area of Science:

• Neurology
• Clinical Trials
• Stroke Research

Background:

• Conducting high-quality stroke trials is complex and costly, facing challenges in researcher attention and patient availability.
• Concurrent enrollment in multiple studies offers a strategy to accelerate patient recruitment for individual stroke trials.
• The DISCOVERY study, a multicenter cohort study for cognitive impairment and dementia post-stroke, reviews other studies for co-enrollment eligibility.

Purpose of the Study:

• To summarize the characteristics of studies reviewed by the DISCOVERY committee.
• To report the outcomes of studies considered for co-enrollment into the DISCOVERY network.
• To assess factors influencing the approval of concurrent co-enrollment in stroke research.

Main Methods:

• The Site Management Committee (SMC) of the DISCOVERY Recruitment and Retention Core reviewed studies from July 2020 to April 2022.
• Study characteristics such as type, follow-up visits, blood draws, imaging, and cognitive tests were documented.
• Patient burden and scientific overlap with DISCOVERY were scored to determine co-enrollment appropriateness.

Main Results:

• 59 studies were reviewed for co-enrollment potential.
• 69.5% of reviewed studies (41 studies, including 21 clinical trials and 20 observational studies) were deemed appropriate for co-enrollment.
• Increased patient burden and greater scientific overlap with DISCOVERY were associated with lower approval rates for co-enrollment.

Conclusions:

• A substantial number of diverse stroke studies are active within the DISCOVERY network.
• Approximately two-thirds of these studies were found suitable for consideration of co-enrollment.
• Further research is recommended to investigate how co-enrollment can enhance the efficiency of trial networks.