title: Tragedy of conducting a clinical trial; generic alert system needed.
abstract: Stopping a clinical trial without reaching the final objective is not the ideal outcome any researcher wants; sometimes ceasing is inevitable. Due to marginal inclusion of patients we were forced to cease our randomized clinical trial on the effectiveness of proprioceptive training on the development of chronic whiplash complaints a year after the start. Although incidence figures demonstrate that recruitment of the planned number of whiplash patients would be easily feasible, we were unable to enroll the amount of subjects. Several motives can be proposed that would have prevented this obliged halting from happening. Other studies also report impracticability of the planned number of whiplash injury patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus MC, PO Box 2040, 3000 CA, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. i.montfoort@erasmusmc.nl
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Montfoort
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Frens
authors.forename: B W
authors.initials: BW
authors.lastname: Koes
authors.forename: G C
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Lagers-van Haselen
authors.forename: C I
authors.initials: CI
authors.lastname: de Zeeuw
authors.forename: A P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Verhagen
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D018579:Patient Selection; D026741:Physical Therapy Modalities; D011434:Proprioception; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic / Q000379:methods*; D012107:Research Design; D014911:Whiplash Injuries / Q000534:rehabilitation