PLoS launches open access journal for clinical trials

PLoS launches open access journal for clinical trials

On May 19, 2006, the Public Library of Science (PLoS) officially launched PLoS Clinical Trials, a new international, peer-reviewed, open-access journal. The journal aims to increase the breadth, depth, and transparency of clinical trials reporting, and address the problem of publication bias in the medical literature by publishing the results of randomized trials in humans from all fields of healthcare. In order to maximize the number of trial results available to the public, publication decisions will not be affected by a clinical trial's size, perceived importance, or the direction of the results. All trials can be reported, providing they have been registered, performed ethically and appropriately, and reported accurately. Journal content can be redistributed and reused without restriction.

PLoS Clinical Trials made two 'preview' articles available in later April. One was a report of a “Randomised Controlled Trial of Unsolicited Occupational Therapy in Community-Dwelling Elderly People: The LOTIS Trial, and the other was a paper by David Korn, MD, and Susan Ehringhaus, JD, entitled, "Principles for Strengthening the Integrity of Clinical Research." The paper presents principles for the responsible conduct and reporting of clinical trials, espoused by the Association of American Medical Colleges, which include the recommendation that positive, negative and null study findings always be published, preferably in peer-reviewed journals.

Sources: PLoS web site and AAMC STAT, April 21, 2006