International Standard Randomized
Controlled Trial Number
As part of an initiative to improve the identification of randomized controlled trials worldwide, Current Controlled Trials Ltd (part of the Current Science Group) has established a simple numeric system that can be used to track all publications and reports resulting from each trial - the International Standard Randomized Controlled Trial Number (ISRCTN). The ISRCTN Register is a database of trials with ISRCTNs entered by the trial sponsor (or lead principal investigator).
Background notes on the ISRCTN provided by Current Controlled Trials –
“The growth in prospective registration of randomized controlled trials has accentuated the need to distinguish between different trials. Trials are usually referred to by a series of grant numbers, protocol numbers, trial names and acronyms which can make it difficult to determine whether reports, publications or entries in trial registers refer to the same trial or not. To provide an accurate reflection of the research activity in a particular area it is important that each trial is counted only once and that unintended duplication between registers is avoided.
The ISRCTN scheme works in much the same way as the ISBN system for labeling and identifying books internationally. The ISRCTN is a randomly generated, 8-digit number, prefixed by the code ISRCTN that uniquely identifies each trial in the ISRCTN Register.
The ISRCTN should be quoted in all publications relating to the trial, in order to:
- Clearly identify the trial and prevent mistaken identity
- Help to detect duplication in current registers of trials, and to avoid trial double-counting when assessing a field of research activity
- Enable tracking of the trial from inception to completion, and beyond.”
The Baromedical Research Foundation is delighted to receive an ISRCTN number for the Proctitis arm of HORTIS (HORTIS IV). The number is ISRCTN85456814.
Go to www.controlled-trials.com for more information.