Question

In a study of medication adherence among clinically depressed young-adults, researchers intended to follow patients for a period of 2-years. However, at the end of this period less than 60% of the originally enrolled participants still responded to researcher requests for information. The 40% who could not be reached were systematically different from the others; their initial depression severity was greater than those participants who were still in contact at the end of the study. This is an example of loss to follow up.

Is it a problem for the researchers that only 60% of the patients are still responding after 2-years? Support your answer with at least TWO specific reasons. (Your answer must be in complete sentences.)

Answer 1

Loss to follow up means patients who were once actively participating in clinical trials have become lost without informing the researcher due to any reason, may be deceased or missing.
it is a bog problem for researcher because of following:

• May cause negative impact on outcome of trial and on pharmaceutical industry
• May present a bias on the result of the study as well as a bias on the investigational study medication. Biased study outcomes also lead to issues of HIPAA standards and compliance.
• Loss to follow up causes longer clinical research trial periods and more monetary expenditures because extra resources may need to be dedicated to the recruitment efforts.