The Psychiatrist (2009) 33: 254-257. doi: 10.1192/pb.bp.108.021949
© 2009 The Royal College of Psychiatrists
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Data supplement
Right arrow Submit an eLetter
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when eLetters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via CrossRef
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Right arrow Citing Articles via Scopus
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Xia, J.
Right arrow Articles by Takriti, Y.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow Articles by Xia, J.
Right arrow Articles by Takriti, Y.

Losing participants before the trial ends erodes credibility of findings

Jun Xia, Research Associate

*Cochrane Schizophrenia Group, 2nd Floor, Bridge House, Balm Road, Leeds LS10 2TP, email: jun.xia{at}nottingham.ac.uk

Clive Adams, Chair of Mental Health Services Research

University of Nottingham, Cochrane Schizophrenia Group, Nottingham

Nishant Bhagat, Specialty Registrar (Year 3) in Psychiatry, Vinaya Bhagat, Specialty Registrar (Year 3) in Psychiatry, Paranthaman Bhoopathi, Consultant Psychiatrist and Hany El-Sayeh, Consultant Psychiatrist

Cochrane Schizophrenia Group, Nottingham

Vanessa Pinfold, Deputy Director of Knowledge and Learning

Rethink, London

Yahya Takriti, Consultant in Old Age Psychiatry

Cochrane Schizophrenia Group, Nottingham

Declaration of interest

None.

AIMS AND METHOD

To estimate the proportion of attrition at which results of drug trials for people with schizophrenia lose enough credibility to become mistrusted by relevant groups of stakeholders. A piloted questionnaire was sent to 128 local clinicians, 100 relevant researchers and 104 service users and carers.

RESULTS

We received the biggest number of responses from the service user and carer group (n=81, 76%); 43% of clinicians and 32% of researchers responded. All three groups suggested that the follow-up rate for a 12-week schizophrenia drug trial should be around 70-75% for the trial to be credible.

CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS

This survey suggests that relevant stakeholders, including researchers, fundamentally mistrust results of the majority of drug trials in schizophrenia. Adopting a more pragmatic trial design can help address this.