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Table 3 Consistency of findings when the same trial is examined in more than one clinical population

From: Exclusion rates in randomized controlled trials of treatments for physical conditions: a systematic review

Condition and trial

Clinical population

Overall risk of bias

Percentage excluded

Median percentage (range for Aaltonen and Vashisht)

Atrial fibrillation

ARISTOTLE (2011)

Yoon (record review for consenting patients in a single hospital)a

High

32.3

Lee (primary care electronic medical record population data)

Low

38.7

Fanning (record review within multiple hospitals)

High

39.5

Desmaele (clinical registry in a single hospital)

High

54.5

Hagg (primary care electronic medical record population data)

Low

71.1

Atrial fibrillation

ROCKET-AF (2011)

Yoon (record review for consenting patients in a single hospital)a

High

34.5

Lee (primary care electronic medical record population data)

Low

52.5

Desmaele (clinical registry in a single hospital)

High

60.7

Fanning (record review within multiple hospitals)

High

64.2

Atrial fibrillation

RE-LY (2009)

Yoon (record review for consenting patients in a single hospital)a

High

35.2

Lee (primary care electronic medical record population data)

Low

36.2

Fanning (record review within multiple hospitals)

High

47.4

Desmaele (clinical registry in a single hospital)

High

52.4

Heart failure

MERIT-HF (2000)

Constantino (record review in a single hospital)a

Unclear

48.0

Jost (clinical registry in a single hospital)

Low

58.8

Masoudi (National Heart Failure Project registry)

High

82.6

Heart failure

RALES (1999)

Masoudi (National Heart Failure Project registry)a

High

74.7

Costantino (record review in a single hospital)

Unclear

76.0

Acute myocardial infarction

GUSTO (1993)

Krumholz (National Research Registry of Myocardial Infarction)a

High

84.5

Krumholz (Cooperative Cardiovascular Project registry)

High

90.6

COPD

POET-COPD (2011)

Kruis (seven primary care databases)a

High

77.0

Halpin (primary care research database)

Low

88.2

COPD

UPLIFT (2009)

Kruis (seven primary care databases)a

High

58.0

Halpin (primary care research database)

Low

77.5

Rheumatoid Arthritis

9 trialsb

Aaltonen (National Register for Biologic Treatment)a

High

80.0 (56.0 to 92.4)

Vashisht (RA Investigators’ Network database research registry)

High

89.6 (74.7 to 91.6)

Vashisht (Veterans’ Affairs Rheumatoid Arthritis research registry)

Unclear

97.4 (75.6 to 98.4)

Rheumatoid Arthritis

21 trialsb

Vashisht (RA Investigators’ Network database research registry)a

Unclear

89.0 (64.9 to 93.5)

Vashisht (Veterans’ Affairs Rheumatoid Arthritis research registry)

High

97.4 (72.7 to 99.1)

  1. a Marked trials with most conservative estimate of percentage of patients excluded were analysed
  2. b See supplementary table S14 for individual trial comparisons