General characteristics
| All articles (n=168) | Including NEJM protocols (n=61) | |
|---|---|---|
| Characteristics | n (%) | n (%) |
| Journal | ||
| NEJM | 61 (36) | 61 |
| Lancet | 64 (38) | |
| JAMA | 19 (11) | |
| BMJ | 8 (5) | |
| Annals of Internal Medicine | 5 (2) | |
| PLoS Medicine | 7 (4) | |
| Archives of Internal Medicine | 2 (1) | |
| JAMA of Internal Medicine | 2 (1) | |
| Year of publication | ||
| 2010 | 26 (15) | 9 (15) |
| 2011 | 27 (16) | 9 (15) |
| 2012 | 29 (17) | 8 (13) |
| 2013 | 39 (23) | 19 (31) |
| 2014 | 27 (16) | 10 (16) |
| 2015 | 20 (12) | 6 (10) |
| Type of intervention | ||
| Drug | 112 (67) | 44 (72) |
| Surgery | 22 (13) | 7 (11) |
| Other | 34 (20) | 10 (16) |
| Randomisation | ||
| Patient | 163 (97) | 59 (97) |
| Cluster | 5 (3) | 2 (3) |
| Power | ||
| 80% | 6 (36) | 19 (31) |
| 85% | 11 (7) | 5 (8) |
| 90% | 65 (39) | 26 (43) |
| 71–99% (excluding the above) | 21 (12) | 11 (18) |
| Not reported/unclear | 10 (6) | 0 |
| Composite outcome | ||
| Yes | 78 (46) | 37 (61) |
| No | 90 (54) | 24 (39) |
| Disease | ||
| Heart disease | 30 (18) | 13 (21) |
| Blood disorder | 19 (11) | 6 (10) |
| Cancer | 16 (10) | 8 (13) |
| Diabetes | 11 (7) | 2 (3) |
| Thromboembolism | 6 (4) | 6 (10) |
| Skin infection (non-contagious) | 3 (2) | 2 (3) |
| Urinary tract infection | 3 (2) | 0 |
| Arthritis | 3 (2) | 1 (2) |
| Opthomology | 3 (2) | 1 (2) |
| Pneumonia | 3 (2) | 1 (2) |
| Complications in pregnancy | 3 (2) | 0 |
| Stroke | 3 (2) | 2 (3) |
| Testing method | 3 (2) | 1 (2) |
| Appendicitis | 2 (1) | 1 (2) |
| Depression | 2 (1) | 0 |
| Other non-infectious disease | 18 (11) | 7 (11) |
| HIV | 18 (11) | 2 (3) |
| Tuberculosis | 6 (4) | 4 (7) |
| Malaria | 4 (2) | 1 (2) |
| Skin infection (contagious) | 2 (1) | 0 |
| Hepatitis C | 2 (1) | 2 (3) |
| Other infectious disease | 8 (5) | 1 (2) |