title: Issues in the design and implementation of multicenter studies in pediatric nephrology.
abstract: Multicenter studies in pediatric nephrology have been acknowledged in recent years to be an important means of studying renal disease in children. This review examines a number of issues that are important in the design and performance of a successful trial, with special emphasis on their significance for prospective clinical trials of antihypertensive medications in children and adolescents. Some issues to be covered include the most frequent difficulties that are encountered with multicenter studies, an historical perspective, specific design problems, the importance of close networking and communication, and the problems that may be anticipated with regards to authorship and financial reimbursement for time and effort. The paper concludes with a brief analysis of how multicenter studies involving hypertension protocols in children and adolescents might be conducted during the next few years.
authors.affiliation: Southwest Pediatric Nephrology Study Group, North Textas Hospital for Children, Dallas, Texas 75230, USA. info@spnsg.org
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Hogg
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gray
mesh_terms: D000959:Antihypertensive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001794:Blood Pressure; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic / Q000592:standards; D006801:Humans; D007674:Kidney Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology
chemical_list: D000959:Antihypertensive Agents