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FAQ: Clinical Trial Results

Question: How can I find the results of a clinical trial?

Answer:

If the results of a clinical trial are published, you may find them at:

  • NLM MEDLINE/PubMed
    http://pubmed.gov

    PubMed® gives you a list of journal article citations and abstracts. Some free full-text articles are available.
    Speak to a local librarian about obtaining full-text articles via interlibrary loan services.

    Search for the name of the study, study number or use the subset
    clinicaltrials.gov[si] OR clinical trial[pt] in your strategy.

    You can also combine the two in your search: (clinicaltrials.gov[si] OR clinical trial[pt]).

    You can also:

    • Search for clinical trials as a publication type: (disease AND clinical trial [pt])
    • Search for the name of the study's principal investigator or collaborators:
      (disease AND last name [ir])

Please note:

  • Trial results may not be available even after a clinical trial ends.
  • Sometimes, trials end before completion, and researchers never publish the results.
  • In some cases, NIH issues a clinical alert in advance of a completed trial or publication.
    The alert may be the only information published. NIH Clinical Alerts are at
    http://www.nlm.nih.gov/databases/alerts/clinical_alerts.html
  • You may need to contact the company that makes the product.

For more information about clinical trials and results:

  • The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) makes sure that safe and effective drugs are
    available to improve the health of people in the United States.
    Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER)
    http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/default.htm

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http://www.nlm.nih.gov/services/ctresults.html