Amid ongoing controversy over clinical trial transparency, a new analysis found that results of 43 studies involving thousands of children were never reported to a U.S. government database or published in the scientific literature.
In some cases, medicines being studied were for such life-threatening conditions as congenital heart disease and Duchenne muscular dystrophy. One study explored the use of a particular painkiller for reducing the amount of opioids needed to treat pain following heart surgery. Another tested a drug for lowering aggression among children diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD.
In each instance, the researchers scoured ClinicalTrials.gov, the federal database, and medical journals, but were unable to find results. More than 3,600 children participated across the 43 studies. There was partial information posted to the database or published in journals for another 22 studies, although the researchers noted that medical journal findings can be unreliable or omit relevant outcome data.
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