Objectives: Primary objective was to assess database variables, processes involved and web platform for their suitability with a view to provide guidance for a large scale global project. Secondary objective was to capture demographic and selected injury/safety data on patients with T-SCI with a view to formulate prevention strategies.
Setting: Nine centers from Asia.
Methods: All patients with T-SCI admitted for first time were included. International SCI Core Data Set and especially compiled Minimal Safety Data Set were used as data elements. Questionnaire was used for feedback from centers.
Results: Results showed relevance and appropriateness of processes, data variables and web platform of the study. Ease of entering and retrieval of data from web platform was confirmed. Cost of one year IDAPP study was USD 7780. 975 patients were enrolled. 790 (81%) were males. High falls (n = 513, 52%) as a cause and complete injuries (n = 547, 56%) were more common. There was a higher percentage of thoracic and lumbar injuries (n = 516, 53%).
Conclusions: The study confirms that establishing the SCI database is possible using the variables, processes and web platform of the pilot study. It also provides a low cost solution. Expansion to other centers/regions and including non-traumatic SCI would be the next step forward.
METHODS AND MATERIALS: This retrospective cohort study identified all phase three RCTs evaluating anticancer therapies published from 2014 to 2017. RCTs were classified according to anticancer modality and country of origin. Descriptive statistics were used to compare key characteristics of radiotherapy RCT studies according to study design characteristics, tumor types evaluated, types of intervention appraised, treatment intent and main funding sources.
RESULTS: The study cohort included 694 RCTs of which 64 were radiotherapy RCTs (9%) compared to 601 (87%) systemic therapy RCTs. 47% of all radiotherapy RCTs focused on two areas of evaluation; combining radiotherapy with systemic agents (25%) and changes in dose fractionation (22%). The most common cancers studied were head and neck (22%), lung (22%) and breast (14%) with cervical cancer trials only representing 3% of the cohort. 33% of radiotherapy RCTs met their primary end point. 62% of radiotherapy RCTs assessed interventions in the curative setting compared to 31% in systemic therapy RCTs. 77% of the radiotherapy RCTs were performed in high-income countries (HIC), 13% in low-and-middle-income countries (LMIC) and 11% in both HIC and LMICs. 17% of radiotherapy RCTs received funding from industry compared to 79% of systemic therapy RCTs.
CONCLUSION: This study has highlighted the need for greater investment in radiotherapy RCTs and the disparities in conduct of RCTs globally. The study emphases the urgent need for more capacity building for cancer clinical trials in LMICs and more sustainable funding sources.
METHODS: This study was a narrative review using literature in the last 10 years identified by web-based search on PubMed and Scopus using keywords. A total of 33 articles that were closely related to the field and application in dentistry were included. The methodology, main results, and future research recommendations, if applicable, were extracted and reviewed.
RESULTS: The authors in this study had identified several areas such as orofacial pain and pain control research, dental anxiety, dental education, oral healthcare perceptions and access, living with dental diseases and dental treatment experience in which the phenomenological method was used to gain an in-depth understanding of the topic.
CONCLUSIONS: There are several advantages of using the phenomenological research method, such as the small sample size needed, the diverse and unique perspective that can be obtained and the ability to improve current understanding, especially from the first-person perspective.