Photo Dave Crosby, Flickr Researchers at The Ottawa Hospital and the University of Ottawa played important roles in three papers recently published in The BMJ (British Medical Journal) that are expected to impact how clinical research is conducted around the world. The first paper answers the crucial question of how to calculate and justify the sample size (number of patients needed) for a given clinical trial. This is important because if too few patients are included, it may be impossible to detect important clinical differences between the groups. But including too many patients raises costs and risks. The second paper provides the first rigorous guidance on an innovative and increasingly popular kind of trial called the stepped-wedge cluster randomized trial. This involves randomizing groups (or clusters) of patients to receive different treatments at different times, rather than randomizing each patient individually. The last paper provides crucial guidance for how to report research that uses routinely-collected data (such as electronic health records) for the study of drug safety and efficacy.
“The Ottawa Hospital is a global leader in developing new and better ways to conduct clinical research,” said Dr. Dean Fergusson, Director of The Ottawa Hospital’s Clinical Epidemiology Program and professor at the University of Ottawa. “This kind of work is improving health and transforming care in Ottawa and around the world.”
Authors affiliated with The Ottawa Hospital: Eric Benchimol, Dean Fergusson, Jeremy Grimshaw, David Moher, Stuart Nicholls, Monica Taljaard.
Core resources: Ottawa Methods Centre
Funding: Research at The Ottawa Hospital is possible because of generous support for The Ottawa Hospital Foundation. This research was also supported by MRC-NIHR UK, the University of Aberdeen, the Scottish Government Health and Social Care Directorates, the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council, the Welcome Trust, the Canada Research Chairs Program, the International Society for Pharmacoepidemiology, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Canadian Association of Gastroenterology, Crohn’s and Colitis Canada, Canadian Child Health, Fonds de recherche du Québec—Santé and the Programme for Clinical Research Infrastructure.
The Ottawa Hospital: Inspired by research. Driven by compassion
The Ottawa Hospital is one of Canada’s largest learning and research hospitals with over 1,100 beds, approximately 12,000 staff and an annual budget of over $1.2 billion. Our focus on research and learning helps us develop new and innovative ways to treat patients and improve care. As a multi-campus hospital, affiliated with the University of Ottawa, we deliver specialized care to the Eastern Ontario region, but our techniques and research discoveries are adopted around the world. We engage the community at all levels to support our vision for better patient care. See www.ohri.ca for more information about research at The Ottawa Hospital.
University of Ottawa: —A crossroads of cultures and ideas
The University of Ottawa is home to over 50,000 students, faculty and staff, who live, work and study in both French and English. Our campus is a crossroads of cultures and ideas, where bold minds come together to inspire game-changing ideas. We are one of Canada’s top 10 research universities—our professors and researchers explore new approaches to today’s challenges. One of a handful of Canadian universities ranked among the top 200 in the world, we attract exceptional thinkers and welcome diverse perspectives from across the globe. www.uottawa.ca
Media Contact
Jennifer Ganton
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Ottawa Hospital Research Institute
Office: 613-798-5555 x 73325
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jganton@ohri.ca
