Table 3

Proportion of trials reporting patient-important outcomes as primary outcomes, stratified by trial characteristics*

OutcomeTrial characteristic; no. (%)
All trialsSuperiority trialsNoninferiority trialsFull or partial industry fundingNonindustry funding
No. of trials225212135858
Any patient-important outcome148 (66)139 (66)9 (69)35 (60)34 (59)
Mortality/survival10 (4)10 (5)002 (3)
Pain20 (9)20 (9)04 (7)4 (7)
Function24 (11)23 (11)1 (8)9 (16)4 (7)
Quality of life8 (4)7 (3)1 (8)3 (5)2 (3)
Morbid events or symptoms92 (41)86 (41)7 (54)20 (34)22 (38)
Patient satisfaction1 (0.4)1 (0.5)000
Intervention outcomes25 (11)25 (12)07 (12)8 (14)
Surrogate outcomes74 (33)71 (33)3 (23)25 (43)20 (34)
Laboratory outcomes17 (8)15 (7)2 (15)5 (9)3 (5)
  • * Data presented only from trials that explicitly specified a primary outcome. Some trials reported more than 1 primary outcome, hence the classifications were not mutually exclusive.

  • Unless indicated otherwise.