Evidence-Based Interventions for Autism: Clinical Trials

EBIACT-database

An open-access scientific database about interventions for people with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

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interventions
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meta-analytic reports
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unique meta-analyses
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controlled clinical trials

What is the EBIACT-database?

Autism Spectrum Disorder
EBIA-CT interactively displays scientific results about interventions for people with ASD.
Umbrella review
EBIA-CT synthesizes results of meta-analyses published in the scientific literature.
Scientifically validated
EBIA-CT displays contents collected in the framework of scientific peer-review articles.
Living actualization
EBIA-CT contains information that is updated at least once per year.

How we created this database

We provide a short summary of the methods used to create the ebiact database. In the next few months, you will be able to obtain more information on a dedicated section of the website. For now, you can obtain this information by reading our paper published in Molecular Psychiatry (see section publications).

Databases search Step 1.

Our team has reviewed the scientific literature in a systematic manner to locate information on the efficacy/acceptability of interventions in people with ASD. For now, we have focused on the efficacy of psychosocial interventions.

Study selection Step 2.

Among all scientific papers located, we retained only the meta-analyses of controlled clinical trials. We developped strict criteria to retain the most high-quality papers from the literature.

Data extraction Step 3.

We extracted data from meta-analytic reports in duplicate. When information was not reported in the manuscript, we contacted the team that have published the paper to obtain the missing information.

Data analysis Step 4.

Once the data have been extracted, we have conducted the statistical analyses using an R package developped by our team. This allows to estimate - for each intervention included in the database - the pooled intervention effect on a wide range of outcomes.

Filling the web platform Step 5.

We present the results of our study in this web platform. You can retrieve the list of interventions included in the database and their description in the 'interventions' sections. You can retrieve the raw results generated by our analyses in the 'database' section.

Publishing the results Step 6.

Each time we update the database with new information, we publish the approach used to arrive at these results in the scientific literature. This ensures that independent experts can give their opinion on the method used. At this time, we have only synthesized the literature on psychosocial interventions and the associated article has been published in 'Molecular Psychiatry', one of the 10 most prestigious journals in psychiatry ! (among more than 500 scientific journals)