Abstract
Belgium has actively participated in clinical research on severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) since the beginning of the pandemic to help identify effective and safe treatments for COVID-19. The objective of this review is to provide a picture of the clinical studies carried out in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 in Belgium. We collected data on all randomized, interventional trials in patients with COVID-19 that were registered on two recognized clinical trial registers, started enrollment before 31 December 2021, and included at least one patient in a Belgian center. Data were collected concerning the therapies investigated and the nature of the trials performed. Thirty-three hospitals (32% of all Belgian hospitals) participated in at least one of 28 trials (13 sponsored by the industry and 15 by academic centers) on therapeutics for COVID-19 in hospitalized patients: 7 (25%) evaluated antivirals, 17 (61%) immunomodulators, 2 (7%) anti-coagulants, and 1 (3%) nitric oxide to improve respiratory function. Nineteen (68%) were phase II trials. Only three (11%) of the trials were international platform trials. Despite numerous trials, less than 3% of all Belgian patients hospitalized with COVID-19 participated in a clinical trial on therapeutics. As in many other countries, more efforts could have been made to avoid running small, under-powered, mono- or bicenter trials, to create better collaboration between the different Belgian hospitals, and to participate in more international clinical trials, and more specifically in adaptive, platform trials.
Keywords: Belgium; adaptive platform trials; severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).
【저자키워드】 Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)., Belgium, adaptive platform trials, 【초록키워드】 COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, coronavirus, clinical trial, pandemic, therapy, Hospitalized, Trial, adaptive, nitric oxide, Therapeutics, antivirals, Respiratory function, hospital, clinical trials, hospitalized patients, severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus, Clinical research, hospitals, Randomized, immunomodulators, International, Research, Patient, Clinical studies, Belgium, platform, trials, clinical study, Safe, acute respiratory syndrome, Enrollment, acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus, acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, collected data, help, effort, Registered, mono, effective, IMPROVE, identify, performed, collected, carried, investigated, evaluated, less, hospitalized patient, concerning, Belgian patient, participated, patients with COVID-19, treatments for COVID-19, with COVID-19, 【제목키워드】 COVID-19, Better,