Maximizing value and minimizing waste in clinical trials in swine: Selecting outcomes to build an evidence base

Abstract

Researchers planning clinical trials should identify the primary trial outcome and adequately power the trial to detect clinically meaningful differences in this outcome. All primary and secondary outcomes and their measurement should be comprehensively described, and their results reported. There is evidence that trials on the same subject use different outcomes or measure the same outcome in different ways, making it difficult to compare intervention effectiveness across clinical trials. Consensus development of core outcome sets could improve consistency in outcome measures used across trials and aid in development of an evidence-based body of literature on intervention effectiveness in swine populations.