Guidance for the conduct and reporting of clinical trials of breast milk substitutes
File(s)
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Importance: Breast milk substitutes (BMS) are important nutritional products evaluated in clinical trials. Concerns have been raised about the risk of bias in BMS trials, the reliability of claims that arise from such trials, and the potential for BMS trials to undermine breastfeeding in trial participants. Existing clinical trial guidance does not fully address issues specific to BMS trials. Objectives: To establish new methodological criteria to guide the design, conduct, analysis, and reporting of BMS trials and to support clinical trialists designing and undertaking BMS trials, editors and peer reviewers assessing trial reports for publication, and regulators evaluating the safety, nutritional adequacy, and efficacy of BMS products. Design, Setting, and Participants: A modified Delphi method was conducted, involving 3 rounds of anonymous questionnaires and a face-to-face consensus meeting between January 1 and October 24, 2018. Participants were 23 experts in BMS trials, BMS regulation, trial methods, breastfeeding support, infant feeding research, and medical publishing, and were affiliated with institutions across Europe, North America, and Australasia. Guidance development was supported by an industry consultation, analysis of methodological issues in a sample of published BMS trials, and consultations with BMS trial participants and a research ethics committee. Results: An initial 73 criteria, derived from the literature, were sent to the experts. The final consensus guidance contains 54 essential criteria and 4 recommended criteria. An 18-point checklist summarizes the criteria that are specific to BMS trials. Key themes emphasized in the guidance are research integrity and transparency of reporting, supporting breastfeeding in trial participants, accurate description of trial interventions, and use of valid and meaningful outcome measures. Conclusions and Relevance: Implementation of this guidance should enhance the quality and validity of BMS trials, protect BMS trial participants, and better inform the infant nutrition community about BMS products.
Date Issued
2020-05-11
Date Acceptance
2020-12-18
Citation
JAMA pediatrics, 2020, 174 (9), pp.874-881
ISSN
2168-6203
Publisher
American Medical Association
Start Page
874
End Page
881
Journal / Book Title
JAMA pediatrics
Volume
174
Issue
9
Copyright Statement
© 2020 Jarrold K et al.JAMA Pediatrics. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the CC-BY License.
License URL
Identifier
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32391870
PII: 2765822
Subjects
Pediatrics
1114 Paediatrics and Reproductive Medicine
Publication Status
Published
Coverage Spatial
United States
Date Publish Online
2020-05-11