New clinical trial guidance created

CAMBRIDGE, England, March 25 (UPI) -- Nine scientific journals from around the world say they have simultaneously published new guidelines to improve reporting of clinical trial findings.

The guidance was published Wednesday by PLoS Medicine, the British Medical Journal, The Lancet, Obstetrics & Gynecology, Annals of Internal Medicine, Open Medicine, the Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, BMC Medicine and Trials.

The guidance, known as the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) statement, was first published in 1996 and revised in 2001. It includes a checklist to help authors write reports of randomized controlled trials so that others can judge the reliability and validity of the results.

"The latest version, CONSORT 2010, improves the specificity and clarity of the previous checklist," officials said. "Several new items will also make it easier for decision makers to judge the soundness of trial results."

Speaking on behalf of coauthors Douglas Altman and David Moher, Kenneth Schulz, vice president of Family Health International, said the publication represents evolving guidelines.

"In the future we will further revise the CONSORT material considering comments, criticisms, experiences and accumulating new evidence," Schulz said. "We invite readers to submit recommendations via the CONSORT website (www.consort-statement.org)."

The guidelines are also available at http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pmed.1000251