title: Trial registration in Latin America and the Caribbean's: study of randomized trials published in 2010.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the prevalence of trial registration in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published in 2010 (PUBMED/LILACS) from Latin America and the Caribbean's (LAC) and to compare methodological characteristics between registered and nonregistered RCTs.
  
  
  METHODS
  A search for detecting RCTs in which at least the first/contact author had a LAC's affiliation was made. We determined if RCTs were registered in the International Clinical Trial Registry Platform (ICTRP). Data were independently extracted by two authors. The risk of bias (RoB) was assessed in all registered RCTs (n=89) and in a sample of nonregistered RCTs (n=237).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The search identified 1,695 references; 526 RCTs from 19 countries were included. 16.9% (89/526) of RCTs were registered in the ICTRP; however, only 21 (4.0%) were prospectively registered. A significant difference was found in the overall assessment of the RoB between registered and nonregistered RCTs. Overall, registered RCTs were multinational, had larger sample size and longer follow-up, and reported more frequently information on funding, conflict of interests, and ethic issues. No significant differences were found when analyzing prospectively registered RCTs.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study shows that trial registration rates are still low in LAC and the quality of reporting needs to be improved.
authors.affiliation: Public Policies and Research, Health Systems Based on Primary Health Care, Pan American Health Organization, Washington DC 20037, USA. lreveiz@paho.org
authors.forename: Ludovic
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Reveiz
authors.forename: Xavier
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Bonfill
authors.forename: Demian
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Glujovsky
authors.forename: Carlos E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Pinzon
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Asenjo-Lobos
authors.forename: Marcela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cortes
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Canon
authors.forename: Ariel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bardach
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Comandé
authors.forename: Andrés F
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Cardona
mesh_terms: D015982:Bias; D017691:Caribbean Region; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D016206:Databases, Bibliographic; D006801:Humans; D007843:Latin America; D015995:Prevalence; D011643:Publishing; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012042:Registries; D012307:Risk Factors