I read with interest the results of the remdesivir arm of the Canadian Treatments for COVID-19 (CATCO) trial, published in CMAJ. (1) I would like to congratulate the entire team on this massive undertaking, in extremely challenging circumstances.
I do have a few concerns regarding the trial results and presentation, as follows:
1. How was the decision made to stop the trial in April? The authors described CATCO as a subtrial of the World Health Organization-led Solidarity trial. (2) In Solidarity, although no upfront sample size calculations were performed, there was an independent data safety and monitoring board (DSMB) that evaluated the trial results, and presumably decisions to stop were taken in consultation with the DSMB? The authors of the CMAJ article note that CATCO continued beyond the cessation of...