The Baby-OSCAR trial: rationale and practicalities

The Baby-OSCAR clinical trial is a new multicentre randomised placebo-controlled trial of ibuprofen treatment for significant patent ductus arteriosus in preterm infants. The main trial is contingent on a successful internal pilot phase, which will assess the practicalities of trial procedures, the equipoise of clinicians and the willingness of parents to enrol their infants into the study. This article describes the Baby-OSCAR trial and offers practical tips for maximising recruitment to clinical trials.