The interpretation of the results of clinical trials should be done by examining the finer prints of extraneous factors such as stopping rules, interim analysis, intricacies of patient selection, and the rationale of decisions that lead to non-prespecified termination. This can be done only by critical education in the art and science of interpretation of evidence emerging from clinical trials. The pioneering pivotal studies, namely, NINDS rtPA and ECASS III trials, hold disproportionate influence in determining the contours of the subsequent fate of clinical trials and treatment guidelines. It needs to be recognized that the pooling of studies using dissimilar trial designs, notwithstanding similar patient profiles, would undermine the positive signal emerging from the studies that have used better selection methodologies to homogenize the study population.


中文翻译：

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证据的边界区域：基于非证据的因素如何影响中风医学的证据产生和临床实践。


对临床试验结果的解释应通过检查外在因素的更精细的印刷来完成，例如停止规则，中期分析，患者选择的复杂性以及导致非预先确定的终止治疗的决策依据。这只能通过对临床试验中出现的证据进行解释的艺术和科学方面的批判教育来完成。具有开创性的关键研究，即NINDS rtPA和ECASS III试验，在确定随后的临床试验和治疗指南的命运方面具有不成比例的影响。需要承认的是，尽管患者概况相似，但使用不同试验设计进行的研究合并，