Issues with Clinical Trials in Maternal Health and the Impact of Fraudulent Studies

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Examining the flaws in clinical trials on tranexamic acid, a drug used for postpartum bleeding, including identical text, data inconsistencies, lack of ethical approval, and the difficulty in obtaining additional details. However, a high-quality trial in 2017 confirmed the drug's effectiveness, suggesting that some flawed trials may have been attempts to replicate without proper standards, leading to misleading results.

Investigations suggest that, in some fields, at least one-quarter of clinical trials might be problematic or even entirely made up. Faked or unreliable trials are dangerous, as they could end up being included in the reviews that help inform clinical treatments. However, the extent of the problem in unclear, and many researchers urge stronger scrutiny.

This is an audio version of our Feature: Medicine is plagued by untrustworthy clinical trials. How many studies are faked or flawed?

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