Is this clinical trial fully registered? A statement from the international committee of medical journal editors

The purpose of this joint and simultaneously published editorial is to answer questions about the ICMJE initiative and to bring the position into harmony with that of others who are working toward the same end.

Abstract

In September 2004, the members of The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) published a joint editorial aimed at promoting registration of all clinical trials. They stated that they will consider a trial for publication only if it has been registered before the enrollment of the first patient. This policy applies to trials that start recruiting on or after July 1, 2005. These editors will consider publication of ongoing trials that are registered before September 13, 2005. The goal is to foster a comprehensive, publicly available database of clinical trials that is available in the public record. This is a way to thank participants in all clinical trials, not just trials that authors decide to report and journal editors decide to publish. Many journals have adopted this policy of requiring trial registration. The american journal of ophthalmology will be adding this requirement in the near future. This editorial addresses questions about this initiative. The minimum required registration dataset fields are provided. Clinical trials may be registered at: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/—Hans E. Grossniklaus