10 March 2021

Over 100 newly registered studies at the USB

Since the introduction of mandatory registration, the rate of reported prospective studies and the quality of study information has been rising continuously.

The fact that planned clinical trials are entered into public registries such as ClinicalTrials.gov increases the visibility and transparency of research. It  is therefore an important measure against the high rate of unpublished research data. Around 20-30% of the studies conducted at university hospitals in Switzerland are never published in a scientific journal. The reasons for this are manifold. For instance, studies with negative results or studies that were not completed are difficult to get published in scientific journals.

All evidence is important

Nevertheless, knowledge of study results that did not show the expected effect or of findings that led to a study not being continued is enormously important for other researchers who may be planning similar projects. Similarly, studies whose results were never published due to lack of resources can be informative. For this reason, the  International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), among others, now requires prospective registration of clinical trials as a prerequisite for subsequent publication in a peer-reviewed journal.

Service for researchers

With financial support from the University Hospital Basel (USB), regulatory specialists at the DKF manage the registration of all prospective interventional and observational studies for all USB researchers. Subsequently and in collaboration with the researchers, the study information is kept up to date during the course of the respective study. In this way, the USB and DKF work together to improve transparency in clinical research.