Larry Husten, who's much quicker than I am, writes on Cardiobrief.org:
Mandatory registration of clinical trials was supposed to prevent some troubling abuses of the research system. Two new studies published today suggest that many of these abuses continue.
And Larry got Yale's Harlan Krumholz to comment on the significance of both papers for CardioBrief:
These papers, in tandem, highlight the shortcomings of the national registry of randomized trials. Much important information is missing from the voluntary registry, wrong information is included in the registry, and many studies remain unpublished even years after they are completed. The findings raise concerns about the quality and completeness of the medical literature.
These studies reveal a major flaw in the medical literature. These articles are a clarion call to action: if we cannot trust the literature - that it is complete and accurate - at least for trials important enough to be registered - then we have a problem of enormous proportions.
