Table 1.

 ClinicalTrials.gov definitions for recruitment status of randomised trials¹¹

Recruitment status	Definition
Included in this study
Completed	The clinical study has ended normally, and participants are no longer being examined or treated (that is, the “last subject, last visit” has occurred)
Suspended	The clinical study has stopped recruiting or enrolling participants early, but it may start again
Terminated	The clinical study has stopped recruiting or enrolling participants early and will not start again. Participants are no longer being examined or treated
Withdrawn	The clinical study stopped before enrolling its first participant
Excluded from this study
Active, not recruiting	The clinical study is ongoing (that is, participants are receiving an intervention or being examined), but potential participants are not currently being recruited or enrolled
Enrolling by invitation	A clinical study that selects its participants from a population, or group of people, decided on in advance by the researchers. These studies are not open to everyone who meets the eligibility criteria, but only to people in that particular population, who are specifically invited to participate
Unknown	A clinical study in ClinicalTrials.gov with a status of “recruiting,” “not yet recruiting,” or “active, not recruiting” and whose status has not been confirmed within the past two years. Studies with an unknown recruitment status are considered open studies or closed studies, depending on their last recorded recruitment status
“Temporarily not available for expanded access” “No longer available for expanded access” “Approved for marketing”	No definition available