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Mapping the methodological diversity of published drug discontinuation studies—a scoping review of study topics, objectives, and designs
Background Trials evaluating drug discontinuation (drug discontinuation trials, DDTs) show a broad methodological spectrum. There are several specific methodological aspects in drug discontinuation trials (e.g., determination of research question; configuration of intervention; definition of outco...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Philipps-Universität Marburg
2023
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | PDF Full Text |
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| Summary: | Background Trials evaluating drug discontinuation (drug discontinuation trials, DDTs) show a broad methodological
spectrum. There are several specific methodological aspects in drug discontinuation trials (e.g., determination of
research question; configuration of intervention; definition of outcomes). To verify this specifies, we did a scoping
review about the study designs of drug discontinuation trials.
Methods A systematic literature search in Medline (PubMed), The Cochrane Library, EMBASE, CINAHL, Web of Science,
and PsycINFO was performed. In a two-step selection process, we identified DDTs, which evaluate the discontinuation
of one or more long-term medication as the investigated intervention, by two independent reviewers.
Besides bibliographic data, we extracted several parameters to describe the used study design of the included DDTs:
motivation for DDT, initially treatment aim of the discontinued medication, study design, methods of discontinuation,
follow-up times, number of study participants, and outcome parameter.
Results Out of 12,132 records, we included 581 DDTs. The most common motivation for doing a DDT were expected
side effects (48.8%), the motivation of proving the efficacy of medication (21.6%), or doubts on the expected benefit
of the used medication (13.8%). The majority of the discontinued medication was initially prescribed to improve the
prognosis of a chronic disease (60.4%) or to relieve symptoms (31%). The study designs of the trials showed a broad
methodological spectrum. The minority of the drug discontinuation trials were randomized controlled trials (34%).
Conclusion The results of this scoping review illustrates the need for an evidence-based methodological standard
for planning and conducting drug discontinuation trials. |
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| Item Description: | Gefördert durch den Open-Access-Publikationsfonds der UB Marburg. |
| DOI: | 10.1186/s13063-023-07105-6 |