Quality of Marginal Adaptation Evaluation of Posterior Composites in Clinical Trials

2003 ◽  
Vol 82 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Hayashi ◽  
N.H.F. Wilson ◽  
D.C. Watts

The evaluation of margins of restorations in clinical trials relies on the subjective assessment of evaluators, with no instrument having been developed, let alone validated, to assist in the process. The purpose of the present study was to assess the quality of evaluations of marginal adaptation by analyzing the distribution of marginal steps rated according to clinical criteria. Replicas of 435 restorations, the marginal qualities of which had been evaluated according to modified USPHS criteria, were randomly selected from the Occlusin TM multi-center clinical trial program. The marginal step height in the most deteriorated area of each restoration was measured by means of a digital step-height instrument. An overlap between the steps in the restorations with A (Alfa; replacement unnecessary) and B (Bravo; replacement questionable) ratings was found to be in the range of 101 μm to 321 μm. When the steps with a height greater or less than one standard deviation of the mean were excluded, the overlap was reduced to a range of 168 μm to 173 μm. This finding indicates a marginal height boundary between A and B ratings for marginal adaptation of 170 ± 3 μm.

2009 ◽  
Vol 27 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. e20709-e20709
Author(s):  
G. Jung ◽  
D. Knight ◽  
A. Moadel ◽  
K. Desai ◽  
I. Chaudhary ◽  
...  

e20709 Background: Quality of life (QoL) assessment in clinical trials has been gaining more attention. FACT-G surveys have been validated to assess QoL in clinical trials involving oncology patient (Cella DF et al, J Clin Oncol 11:570–579, 1993). However, there is paucity of evaluation of QoL in patients with advanced cancer participating in Phase I clinical trials. Methods: FACT-G surveys were conducted within the context of a Phase I trial to identify a safe dose and potential drug-drug interations of capecitabine and irinotecan combination (Goel, S et al, Invest New Drugs 25:237–245, 2007). The FACT-G survey consists of 28 questions in 5 sections, namely, physical well-being, social/family well-being, emotional well-being, relationship with doctor, and functional well-being). Patients were requested to complete the FACT-G surveys at baseline and every two cycles thereafter (each cycle of 3 weeks duration). Results: Forty-one of 47 patients with advanced solid tumors who participated in the clinical trial completed FACT-G surveys. Mean scores were calculated for each time point. The mean QoL scores at baseline and post cycle 2 were 53 and 58, respectively (p = 0.1). Post cycle 4, the mean QoL score was 62 [p = 0.01, (vs. baseline)]. Following cycle 4, the number of respondents decreased to the extent where we were unable to ascertain any further changes in the QoL scores. Conclusions: It is feasible to use FACT-G survey as a tool to assess QoL in patients participating in an oncology phase I clinical trial. Although the sample size of the patient population was not powered for any statistical significance, there was a trend toward improving QoL based on FACT-G survey scores. This suggests that phase I clinical trials may provide improvement of QoL for some patients. FACT-G is a useful tool in assessing QoL in oncology phase I trial study population. No significant financial relationships to disclose.


Trials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhuoran Kuang ◽  
◽  
Xiaoyan Li ◽  
Jianxiong Cai ◽  
Yaolong Chen ◽  
...  

Abstract Objective To assess the registration quality of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) clinical trials for COVID-19, H1N1, and SARS. Method We searched for clinical trial registrations of TCM in the WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (ICTRP) and Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR) on April 30, 2020. The registration quality assessment is based on the WHO Trial Registration Data Set (Version 1.3.1) and extra items for TCM information, including TCM background, theoretical origin, specific diagnosis criteria, description of intervention, and outcomes. Results A total of 136 records were examined, including 129 severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (COVID-19) and 7 H1N1 influenza (H1N1) patients. The deficiencies in the registration of TCM clinical trials (CTs) mainly focus on a low percentage reporting detailed information about interventions (46.6%), primary outcome(s) (37.7%), and key secondary outcome(s) (18.4%) and a lack of summary result (0%). For the TCM items, none of the clinical trial registrations reported the TCM background and rationale; only 6.6% provided the TCM diagnosis criteria or a description of the TCM intervention; and 27.9% provided TCM outcome(s). Conclusion Overall, although the number of registrations of TCM CTs increased, the registration quality was low. The registration quality of TCM CTs should be improved by more detailed reporting of interventions and outcomes, TCM-specific information, and sharing of the result data.


2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (Supplement_3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaolei Zhou ◽  
Diana Garbinsky ◽  
John Ouyang ◽  
Eric Davenport ◽  
Indra Agarwal ◽  
...  

Abstract Background and Aims : Observation of impactful clinical outcomes in a clinical trial setting for ADPKD is challenging due to the life-long progressive nature of ADPKD and longer-term associated outcomes of interest in this population (e.g., renal function decline, cardiovascular events, and mortality). Since 2004, the tolvaptan (TOL) clinical trial program enrolled subjects in multiple clinical studies with the opportunity to enroll in subsequent clinical trials for treatment and outcomes evaluation. Method : Data from 6 ADPKD studies (protocols 156-04-250, 156-04-251, 156-06-260, 156-09-284, 156-09-290, 156-08-271) were pooled and evaluated over time for overall treatment duration, treatment time, and treatment gaps. Treatment duration for the individual clinical trials ranged from 1 week to up to 3 years. Results : Overall, 1,437 subjects received TOL in these ADPKD clinical trials. For these subjects, the mean overall treatment duration was 4.1 years (3.8 years on treatment) with a maximum of 9.7 years (9.0 years on treatment). In this cohort, 513 subjects (35.7%) received TOL treatment for more than 5 years. Mean treatment compliance was 94.1%. Overall, 723 subjects (50.3%) received TOL treatment in ≥2 trials, with a median treatment gap duration between trials of 0.1 years (maximum, 5.6 years). At least 7 years of follow-up data are available for estimated glomerular filtration rate in 241 subjects (mean at baseline, 78.6 mL/min/1.73m2) and for total kidney volume in 130 subjects (mean at baseline, 1,816.9 mL). Conclusion : This analysis provides longitudinal follow-up over an extended timeframe in a large number of subjects treated with TOL, with the greatest number of subjects being enrolled in clinical trials enriched for rapidly progressing ADPKD. Treatment compliance over years was reasonably good despite treatment gaps.


2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (02) ◽  
pp. E79-E85 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carina Sander ◽  
Hans-Ulrich Voelter ◽  
Hans-Peter Schlake ◽  
Paul Eling ◽  
Helmut Hildebrandt

AbstractOne of the most frequent symptoms in multiple sclerosis (MS) is fatigue. It has a major impact on quality of life as well as on professional activity. Even nowadays it is still unclear what constitutes an adequate assessment of the perceived fatigue.The following overview will discuss different possibilities to assess fatigue with the help of questionnaires, clinical interviews or the objective measurement of cognitive performance. Furthermore, a structured guideline for the assessment of fatigue will be proposed. Clinical criteria for MS related fatigue include the main symptoms, their everyday relevance, the possible causal relation with the cause of disease (the underlying MS), as well as an exclusion of other possible somatic or psychological reasons. It is recommended to use the “Würzburger Erschöpfungs-Inventar bei Multipler Sklerose (WEIMUS)” (English: Würzburg Fatigue Inventory for Multiple Sclerosis) and especially the “Fatigue Scale for Motor and Cognitive Functions” (FSMC), as these questionnaires distinguish between motor and cognitive fatigue and due to the larger number of research studies using the FSMC. Moreover, the presence of depression, quality of sleep and daytime sleepiness should be assessed. In addition, general cognitive performance as well as performance during monotonous stimulation (vigilance) should be assessed. This may be relevant for the evaluation of a patient’s capacity to work, and for determining prognosis, as there are indications for a relation to relapse frequency, a change from a clinically isolated syndrome (CIS) to an MS diagnosis with an increase of brain atrophy.All in all, it can be said, that despite the growing convergence of diagnostic criteria, the available studies of the objective as well as the subjective assessment of fatigue are still not sufficient and further research is needed.


2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
Author(s):  
Farzad Allameh ◽  
Abbas Basiri ◽  
Saleh Ghiasy ◽  
Atefeh Javadi ◽  
Seyyed Ali Hojjati ◽  
...  

Background: Radiotherapy (RT) is a choice to manage pelvic organ malignancies that can affect bladder; therefore, it causes radiation cystitis with some bothering urinary symptoms and decreasing the patient’s quality of life. Intravesical hyaluronic acid (HA) is an agent with promising results in some studies for cystitis, and Cystistat is a derivative of hyaluronic acid. Objectives: This clinical trial aimed at evaluating the effects of intravesical instillation of Cystistat on symptoms of radiation cystitis and quality of life (QOL). Methods: A total of 58 patients with radiation cystitis were randomized in 2 groups (case: 30, control: 28). One group received intravesical Cystistat, the other received normal saline weekly for up to 4 weeks and then monthly for up to 2 months. Hematuria, Visual Analog scale (VAS) and QOL based on King’s Health questionnaire were compared before and 3, 6 and 9 months after intravesical instillation. Results: The mean age of the patients was 63.93 ± 10.89 years old. The mean of each sub-category of QOL and total score of QOL, as well as, VAS score were significantly improved in comparison to the control group at each time of follow-ups (P < 0.05). Hematuria was significantly different in the 3rd, 6th and 9th month of follow-ups (P < 0.05). Conclusions: Findings showed that patients with radiation cystitis could significantly benefit from intravesical instillation of HA, their hematuria would be successfully resolved rather than control group in addition to lowering the VAS score, so their QOL would be improved.


2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Giselle Prado ◽  
Anna J Nichols ◽  
Mercedes Florez-White ◽  
Francisco Kerdel

Background: Psoriasis is a chronic remitting and relapsing skin disease. For many patients, improved quality of life (QoL) is as important as clinical improvement of lesions.Objective: To review reporting of Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of biologics for adult patients with plaque psoriasis.Methods: A systematic review was conducted in 4 databases for RCTs that measured DLQI at baseline and endpoint. A data collection form was created for collecting study variables. Risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane risk of bias tool.Results: Thirty-four RCTs enrolling 16,784 patients were included. Complete baseline and final mean DLQI data was retrieved for 24 studies (70.6%). The mean DLQI at baseline was reported in 79.4% of RCTs. The median at baseline was reported in 14.7% of RCTs. The mean DLQI at endpoint was reported in 23.5% of RCTs and the median DLQI at endpoint was reported in 5.9% of RCTs. The mean change in DLQI was reported in 64.7% of RCTs.Conclusions: DLQI was measured in most clinical trials assessing the efficacy of biologics for psoriasis. Studies did not adhere to uniform standards in publishing results, making analysis of the impact on DLQI challenging.Key Words: plaque psoriasis, quality of life, Dermatology Life Quality Index, Systematic Review, biologic therapy


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liran Chen ◽  
Zhimin Chen ◽  
Huafang Chen

Abstract Objective: The changes of absolute value and relative value of clinical research coordinator service fee and its influence on the quality of drug clinical trial were analyzed.Methods: This study compared the amount and structural changes of drug clinical trial costs in before 3 years and after 3 years of self-examination and inspection initiated by the China Food and Drug Administration, identified the increase number and composition of each individual cost of a clinical trial research funds which including clinical research coordinator service fee, investigator labor fee, subjects examination fee, subjects traffic subsidy, documents management fee, drug management fee, etc.Result: The most significant appearance and increase in volume and proportion were the clinical research coordinator service fee. From the initial few to the global multicenter tumor drug clinical trials RMB31,624 or 34.92% of the proportion and domestic multicenter tumor drug clinical trials RMB16,500,accounted for 33.74%.Discussion: It has become common for more money to be spent on clinical trials to be accompanied by improved quality, but the occurrence and continuous increase of clinical research coordinator service fee were divided into two aspects, On the one hand, the quality of clinical trials was promoted by the large amount of low-skill trivial work undertaken by clinical research coordinator; on the other hand, the quality of clinical trials was undermined by the fact that clinical research coordinator did too much treatment evaluation work that should have been done by the investigator.


Author(s):  
Zhili Tian ◽  
Weidong Han ◽  
Warren B. Powell

Problem definition: Clinical trials are crucial to new drug development. This study investigates optimal patient enrollment in clinical trials with interim analyses, which are analyses of treatment responses from patients at intermediate points. Our model considers uncertainties in patient enrollment and drug treatment effectiveness. We consider the benefits of completing a trial early and the cost of accelerating a trial by maximizing the net present value of drug cumulative profit. Academic/practical relevance: Clinical trials frequently account for the largest cost in drug development, and patient enrollment is an important problem in trial management. Our study develops a dynamic program, accurately capturing the dynamics of the problem, to optimize patient enrollment while learning the treatment effectiveness of an investigated drug. Methodology: The model explicitly captures both the physical state (enrolled patients) and belief states about the effectiveness of the investigated drug and a standard treatment drug. Using Bayesian updates and dynamic programming, we establish monotonicity of the value function in state variables and characterize an optimal enrollment policy. We also introduce, for the first time, the use of backward approximate dynamic programming (ADP) for this problem class. We illustrate the findings using a clinical trial program from a leading firm. Our study performs sensitivity analyses of the input parameters on the optimal enrollment policy. Results: The value function is monotonic in cumulative patient enrollment and the average responses of treatment for the investigated drug and standard treatment drug. The optimal enrollment policy is nondecreasing in the average response from patients using the investigated drug and is nonincreasing in cumulative patient enrollment in periods between two successive interim analyses. The forward ADP algorithm (or backward ADP algorithm) exploiting the monotonicity of the value function reduced the run time from 1.5 months using the exact method to a day (or 20 minutes) within 4% of the exact method. Through an application to a leading firm’s clinical trial program, the study demonstrates that the firm can have a sizable gain of drug profit following the optimal policy that our model provides. Managerial implications: We developed a new model for improving the management of clinical trials. Our study provides insights of an optimal policy and insights into the sensitivity of value function to the dropout rate and prior probability distribution. A firm can have a sizable gain in the drug’s profit by managing its trials using the optimal policies and the properties of value function. We illustrated that firms can use the ADP algorithms to develop their patient enrollment strategies.


2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alina Danet ◽  
Joan Carles March Cerdá ◽  
Manuel Romero Vallecillos

Objetivo. Los ensayos clínicos con heroína (diacetilmorfina-DAM) han aportado al arsenal terapeútico disponible una alternativa en la atención a drogodependientes. El objetivo del presente artículo es conocer las experiencias y resultados clínicos de los estudios sobre el uso terapéutico de la heroina.Metodo. Revisión bibliográfica de los diferentes estudios y ensayos clínicos realizados hasta el presente a nivel mundial, sobre la intervención con pacientes dependientes de opioides. Se han consultado las bases de datos: EMBASE, ScienceDirect, Wiley-Blackwell, PubMed, Bio-Med Central, Medline, Ovid, y los descriptores «heroin», «diacetylmorphine», «clinical trial», «survey».Resultados. Se detectan 42 referencias, 16 presentan los resultados de ensayos clínicos de Suiza, Holanda, Alemania, Canadá, España y Reino Unido, comenzando con 1994. El resto de estudios se refieren a: captación y participación de los drogodependientes, mortalidad, calidad de vida, efectos secundarios y necesidad de nuevas investigaciones y ensayos clínicos.Conclusiones. Los estudios clínicos llevados a cabo hasta la actualidad muestran heterogeneidad en los métodos y variables empleadas, pero los objetivos son comunes (parten de evaluar los efectos del uso terapéutico de la heroina) y los resultados constatan la seguridad y efectividad de la prescripción médica de la diacetilmorfina. AbstractObjective. Clinical trials with heroin (diacetylmorphine) bring an alternative to the available therapeutic possibilities for addict people. The purpose of this article is to describe the experiences and results of clinical studies centered on the therapeutic use of heroin.Method. Literature review of studies and clinical trials, centered on the intervention with opiois- dependent patients. The databases consulted were : EMBASE, ScienceDirect, Wiley-Blackwell, PubMed, Bio-Med Central, Medline, Ovid. The descriptors : «heroin», «diacetylmorphine», «clinical trial», «survey».Results. The literature review revealed the existence of 42 references, of which 16 presented the results of clinical trials in Switzerland, Holland, Germany, Canada, Spain and United Kingdom, starting with 1994. Other references are centered on uptake and involvement of the drug, mortality quality of life/ side effects and need for further research and clinical trials.Conclusions. Clinical studies carried out until the present show heterogeneity in the methods and variables used, but the objectives are the same (based on assessing the effects of the therapeutic use of heroin) and the results confirm the safety and effectiveness of medical prescription of diacetylmorphine.


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