Database design
Identification of the studies
We have identified the clinical trials included in Minerva from weekly searches of the following databases: Medline, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), PsycINFO. In addition, we have searched clinical trial registries such aswww.clinicaltrials.gov, www.clinicaltrialsregister.eu, www.controlled-trials.com, FDA, EMA and the websites of pharmaceutical companies marketing medicines used to treat ADHD (Eli-Lilly, Janssen, Shire, Novartis). We have used syntaxes with high sensitivity and low specificity to ensure that all published clinical trials are identified (see Table).
| SYNTAXES | |
|---|---|
| Medline |
(“attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity”[MeSH Terms] OR adhd OR “minimal brain” OR “hyperkinetic disorder” OR “attention deficit”) AND ((randomized controlled trial[pt] OR controlled clinical trial[pt] OR randomized controlled trials[mh] OR random allocation[mh] OR double-blind method[mh] OR single-blind method[mh] OR clinical trial[pt] clinical trials[mh] OR (clinical trial[tw]) OR ((singl*[tw] OR doubl*[tw] OR trebl*[tw] OR tripl*[tw]) AND (mask*[tw] OR blind*[tw])) OR (latin square[tw]) OR placebos[mh] OR placebo*[tw] OR random*[tw] OR research design[mh:noexp] OR follow-up studies[mh] OR prospective studies[mh] OR cross-over studies[mh] OR prospective*[tw] OR volunteer[tw]) NOT (animal[mh] NOT human[mh])) |
| CENTRAL | (“Attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity” OR ADHD OR “minimal brain” OR “hyperkinetic disorder” OR “attention deficit”) |
| PsycINFO | (attention deficit OR hyperactivity OR ADHD OR minimal brain) AND random* |
| www.clinicaltrials.gov | “attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity” OR ADHD OR “minimal brain” OR “hyperkinetic disorder” OR “attention deficit” |
| www.clinicaltrialsregister.eu | “attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity” OR ADHD OR “minimal brain” OR “hyperkinetic disorder” OR “attention deficit” |
| www.controlled-trials.com | “attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity” OR ADHD OR “minimal brain” OR “hyperkinetic disorder” OR “attention deficit” |
We have examined abstracts of potentially relevant publications. The full articles of those studies deemed suitable were acquired. The reference list of retrieved studies was also examined in order to identify further clinical trials that may have gone unnoticed.
