CME Courses: Clinical Trials

This is the fourth edition of a very successful textbook on clinical trials methodology, written by three recognized experts who have long and extensive experience in all areas of clinical trials. Most chapters have been revised considerably from the third edition. A chapter on ethics has been added and topics such as noninferiority and adaptive designs now receive considerable discussion. There is much new material on adverse events, adherence, data monitoring, and issues in analysis. This book is intended for the clinical researcher who is interested in designing a clinical trial and developing a protocol. It is also of value to researchers and practitioners who must critically evaluate the literature of published clinical trials and assess the merits of each trial and the implications for the care and treatment of patients. The authors use numerous examples of published clinical trials from a variety of medical disciplines to illustrate the fundamentals. The text is organized sequentially from defining the question to trial closeout. One chapter is devoted to each of the critical areas to aid the clinical trial researcher. These areas include pre-specifying the scientific questions to be tested and appropriate outcome measures, determining the organizational structure, estimating an adequate sample size, specifying the randomization procedure, implementing the intervention and visit schedules for participant evaluation, establishing an interim data and safety monitoring plan, detailing the final analysis plan, and reporting the trial results according to the pre-specified objectives. Although a basic introductory statistics course is helpful in maximizing the benefit of this book, a researcher or practitioner with limited statistical background would still find most if not all the chapters understandable and helpful. While the technical material has been kept to a minimum, the statistician may still find the principles and fundamentals presented in this text useful. This book has been successfully used for teaching courses in clinical trial methodology.

Dr. Philip Mann has an office in an affluent suburb of Houston, not at all like the small town in which he was brought up. He is appalled at the casual attitude some of his patients have toward so called recreational drugs. When patients appear with strange and similar symptoms Philip suspects that a new drug has hit the streets. When a patient dies in the hospital under mysterious circumstances he sees a connection. After somebody tries to kill him Philip follows his suspicions. He discovers secrets that people are desperate to keep. His investigations lead to fatal and horrifying conclusions. And to the finding of true evil.

Conducting Clinical Research: A Practical Guide for Physicians, Nurses, Study Coordinators, and Investigators, 2nd edition, is a step-by-step how-to manual for both experienced medical professionals and novices looking to enter the field of clinical studies.

Explains how to land a study on good terms

Provides tips for recruiting patient volunteers--and keeping them happy

Offers easy strategies for coordinating studies

Demystifies regulatory requirements

With a comprehensive index and appendices, this book has been adopted by university health sciences programs across the country.

The first edition was a Ben Franklin Awards 2007 Finalist and a 2007 Finalist in ForeWord Magazine's reference category for professional/technical books.

New, expanded, and completely updated sections keep readers abreast of changes in the rapidly shifting global drug development industry, including new regulations affecting research, subject injury clauses, the unique needs of device and vaccine trials, the impact of HIPAA on U.S. research, cultural competency and health literacy, ethical considerations in clinical research, and how to survive audits.

Learn rigorous statistical methods to ensure valid clinical trials

This Second Edition of the critically hailed Clinical Trials builds on the text's reputation as a straightforward and authoritative presentation of statistical methods for clinical trials. Readers are introduced to the fundamentals of design for various types of clinical trials and then skillfully guided through the complete process of planning the experiment, assembling a study cohort, assessing data, and reporting results. Throughout the process, the author alerts readers to problems that may arise during the course of the trial and provides commonsense solutions.

The author bases the revisions and updates on his own classroom experience, as well as feedback from students, instructors, and medical and statistical professionals involved in clinical trials. The Second Edition greatly expands its coverage, ranging from statistical principles to controversial topics, including alternative medicine and ethics. At the same time, it offers more pragmatic advice for issues such as selecting outcomes, sample size, analysis, reporting, and handling allegations of misconduct. Readers familiar with the First Edition will discover completely new chapters, including:
* Contexts for clinical trials
* Statistical perspectives
* Translational clinical trials
* Dose-finding and dose-ranging designs


Each chapter is accompanied by a summary to reinforce the key points. Revised discussion questions stimulate critical thinking and help readers understand how they can apply their newfound knowledge, and updated references are provided to direct readers to the most recent literature.

This text distinguishes itself with its accessible and broad coverage of statistical design methods--the crucial building blocks of clinical trials and medical research. Readers learn to conduct clinical trials that produce valid qualitative results backed by rigorous statistical methods.

This book is a friendly jargon buster, which aims to demystify clinical trials. It is divided into five sections: fundamentals of trial design, alternative trial designs, basics of statistical analysis, special trial issues in data analysis, and reporting of trials. Using simple language the book explains with illustrations of numerous trial examples, the conceptual and methodological issues that occur at all stages of clinical trial covering trial design, conduct, analysis and reporting. The book is an educational and approachable reference in a difficult area of medicine where clinicians often feel uncertain and this material helps them review, appraise and publish trials and clinical evidence. The audience for the book includes physicians, statisticians, pharmacists, medical students, clinical researchers, medical writers, data managers, study co-ordinators, pharmaceutical sales representatives, and financial (medical) analysts.

Clinical Trials: Study Design, Endpoints and Biomarkers, Drug Safety, and FDA and ICH Guidelines is a practical guidebook for those engaged in clinical trial design. This book details the organizations and content of clinical trials, including trial design, safety, endpoints, subgroups, HRQoL, consent forms and package inserts. It provides extensive information on both US and international regulatory guidelines and features concrete examples of study design from the medical literature. This book is intended to orient those new to clinical trial design and provide them with a better understanding of how to conduct clinical trials. It will also act as a guide for the more experienced by detailing endpoint selection and illustrating how to avoid unnecessary pitfalls. This book is a straightforward and valuable reference for all those involved in clinical trial design.

• Provides extensive coverage of the "study schema" and related features of study design
• Offers a "hands-on" reference that contains an overview of the process, but more importantly details a step-by-step account of clinical trial design
• Features examples from the medical literature to highlight how investigators choose the most suitable endpoint(s) for clinical trial and includes graphs from real clinical trials to help explain each concept in study design
• Integrates clinical trial design, pharmacology, biochemistry, cell biology and legal aspects to provide readers with a comprehensive look at all aspects of clinical trials

"The publication of the second edition of this manual comes at an important juncture in the history of clinical research. As advances in information technology make it possible to link individuals and groups in diverse locations in jointly seeking the answers to pressing global health problems, it is critically important to remain vigilant about moral and ethical safeguards for every patient enrolled in a trial. Those who study this manual will be well aware of how to ensure patient safety along with fiscal responsibility, trial efficiency, and research integrity."
—Robert Harrington, Professor of Medicine, Director, Duke Clinical Research Institute, Durham, North Carolina, USA

The Duke Clinical Research Institute (DCRI) is one of the world's leading academic clinical research organizations; its mission is to develop and share knowledge that improves the care of patients around the world through innovative clinical research. This concise handbook provides a practical "nuts and bolts" approach to the process of conducting clinical trials, identifying methods and techniques that can be replicated at other institutions and medical practices.

Designed for investigators, research coordinators, CRO personnel, students, and others who have a desire to learn about clinical trials, this manual begins with an overview of the historical framework of clinical research, and leads the reader through a discussion of safety concerns and resulting regulations. Topics include Good Clinical Practice, informed consent, management of subject safety and data, as well as monitoring and reporting adverse events.

Updated to reflect recent regulatory and clinical developments, the manual reviews the conduct of clinical trials research in an increasingly global context. This new edition has been further expanded to include:

• In-depth information on conducting clinical trials of medical devices and biologics
• The role and responsibilities of Institutional Review Boards, and
• Recent developments regarding subject privacy concerns and regulations.

Ethical documents such as the Belmont Report and the Declaration of Helsinki are reviewed in relation to all aspects of clinical research, with a discussion of how researchers should apply the principles outlined in these important documents. This graphically appealing and eminently readable manual also provides sample forms and worksheets to facilitate data management and regulatory record retention; these can be modified and adapted for use at investigative sites.

Clinical trials have revolutionized the way disease is prevented, detected and treated, and early death avoided, and they continue to be an expanding area of research. They are central to the work of pharmaceutical companies, and there are many academic and public sector organizations that conduct trials on a wide variety of interventions, including drugs, devices, surgical techniques, and changes in behaviour and lifestyle.

A Concise Guide to Clinical Trials provides a comprehensive yet easy-to-read overview of the design, conduct and analysis of trials. It requires no prior knowledge on the subject as the important concepts are introduced throughout. There are chapters that distinguish between the different types of trials, and an introduction to systematic reviews, health-related quality of life and health economic evaluation. The book also covers the ethical and legal requirements in setting up a clinical trial due to an increase in governance responsibilities and regulations.

This practical guidebook is ideal for busy clinicians and other health professionals who do not have enough time to attend courses or search through extensive textbooks. It will help anyone involved in undertaking clinical research, or those reading about trials. The book is aimed at:

• Those wishing to learn about clinical trials for the first time, or as a quick reference guide, for example as part of a taught course on clinical trials

• Health professionals who wish to conduct their own trials, or participate in other people’s studies
• People who work in pharmaceutical companies, grant funding organisations, or regulatory agencies

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