Multicentre Study

TL;DR

Conducted across multiple locations and often involves many research teams and participants.
Used to assess the safety and effectiveness of medical treatments, diagnostic tests, or other interventions across diverse settings.
Enables evaluation of interventions in real-world settings by studying large, varied participant groups.

Definition

A multicentre study is a type of clinical research study that is conducted at multiple locations, or centers. This type of study is typically used to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of a medical treatment, diagnostic test, or other medical intervention.

Explanation

Multicentre studies are often large and complex, involving many different research teams, participants, and locations. They are an important tool for evaluating the effectiveness of medical interventions in a wide range of settings and populations, providing valuable insights into how different treatments perform in real-world contexts.

Examples

Clinical Antipsychotic Trials of Intervention Effectiveness (CATIE)

The CATIE study was conducted in the United States to evaluate the effectiveness of different treatments for schizophrenia. The study involved more than 1,400 participants at 57 different research centers across the country.

National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) study

This study evaluated the effectiveness of different treatments for stroke and involved more than 1,000 participants at over 200 different research centers around the world.

Use cases

Evaluating the safety and effectiveness of a medical treatment.
Assessing diagnostic tests.
Studying other medical interventions across varied populations and settings.

Clinical research study
Medical intervention
Diagnostic test
Safety and effectiveness
Real-world settings