Reflections 1 year into the 21-Center National Institutes of Health--funded WRIST study: a primer on conducting a multicenter clinical trial.

Abstract

The Wrist and Radius Injury Surgery Trial (WRIST) study group is a collaboration of 21 hand surgery centers in the United States, Canada, and Singapore, to showcase the interest and capability of hand surgeons to conduct a multicenter clinical trial. The WRIST study group was formed in response to the seminal systematic review by Margaliot et al and the Cochrane report that indicated marked deficiency in the quality of evidence in the distal radius fracture literature. Since the initial description of this fracture by Colles in 1814, over 2,000 studies have been published on this subject; yet, high-level studies based on the principles of evidence-based medicine are lacking. As we continue to embrace evidence-based medicine to raise the quality of research, the lessons learned during the organization and conduct of WRIST can serve as a template for others contemplating similar efforts. This article traces the course of WRIST by sharing the triumphs and, more important, the struggles faced in the first year of this study.