ever been banned because of VCT ?

[travelingrat]

Just wondering ....have any of you ever been banned because of VCT or do you have direct knowledge (not hearsay) of someone being banned or suspended because of soing uncovered by VCT ?

Late in 2013 (or maybe 2014), i passed a screening at the old Celerion NJ clinic and showed up on the appropriate day for the study. there were 6 of us and they wanted 4. as we were sitting in their intake room with the long table, one young woman was called up. one of the staff said to her, VCT tells us that you were in another study just 2 weeks ago.

she replied that no, that info was incorrect, that she screened but did not do the study. they were very nice and said that unfortunately, it was too late to clear it up but they would give her the alternate fee of $150. she did not argue, just accepted the check and left.

there was no unfriendliness or talk of suspension or banning. in fact, they invited her to screen again as soon as another study became available.

that is my one and only encounter with VCT.

i wonder just how many volunteers try to push the limits. i assume some must, but for me, it would be difficult in so many ways.

a volunteer would have to be certain that their most recent study would not push certain important values out of range. seriously out-of-range values could result in some clinics not wanting to bother screening a volunteer for future studies.

in my case, i have great veins but bruise easily and it takes at least 2 weeks for the large, dark bruises to go away. plus even though i have met many great and wonderful volunteers, the flip side is that i often have to recover mentally from the weirdness, rudeness, or disgusting practices of others who were not so great (to put it mildly).

my own opinion of VCT is that it is silly and just another way to make money off us. most drugs leave the system quite rapidly. and if a volunteer does try to screen too early, if his or her lab values are good, what difference should it make (to anyone other than that volunteer)? i have posted before that some clinics i go to also consider it a silly waste of money so i know i am not alone in my opinion.

again ...just wondering ... what experiences any of you have had with VCT and what is your opinion of it?

[antecubital]

Jun 25, 2016 14:10:19 GMT -5 travelingrat said:

Just wondering ....have any of you ever been banned because of VCT or do you have direct knowledge (not hearsay) of someone being banned or suspended because of soing uncovered by VCT ?

No direct experiences, but I think it's just a yes or no thing. The clinic checking you in/screening you only knows whether or not you're eligible, and maybe when you are supposed to be "clear" from your previous study to do another study. I don't think they would want to ban any potential subjects if they can avoid it, considering how desperate clinics sometimes are to fill studies.

[travelingrat]

Yes, that makes sense.

[labrat1]

This thread was created in 2016.

VCT has become very much a part of most clinical trials in most CROs. It is standard now.
A few years back it seemed that only a handful of clinics used VCT. It got around.

The only research places that do not use VCT would be small obscure or "non commercial" research departments in hospitals or universities. It costs too much for them to use VCT.
Probably they won't go that route.

What I mean by "non commercial" is that a lot of research departments in hospitals or universities that are not CROs tend to do studies to find out about things such as human psychology, effects of medication on motor skills, how well or poorly people do on cognitive tests after drinking coffee , what an MRI machine shows of your brain as you look at photos of scary looking people, etc etc etc. I have done many of those. They tend not to pay a lot and are done for knowledge and science than to develop a drug or medical device to put on the market and make money.

I can understand that VCT is silly in certain ways. Volunteers need to make money. Certain drugs are out of your system in under a week, etc.
Yet by not waiting through a washout before doing another study some volunteers can really compromise study results and even their own health and it can seem as if the clinic is responsible. Of course, not that studies are so accurate because of a lot of other factors too.
It can be damned if you do or don't.

[fl2014ta]

I was once told I was ineligible for a study when I went to screening and informed the recruiter actually what the study was about and she told me to come in and screen anyway and it would not be a problem. I was dosing with fructose, not any drug, additives, etc. But they did pick it up on VCT and told me I was unable to participate and I had them pay me the full screening which was $200 IIRC. I was allowed to screen again with no problem. I was also told that I could not rescreen after taking cough medicine (forgetfully) on the morning of travel and it came up in my breath. I was told I could not screen for a certain time after. This was all at the same clinic but overall I would say being banned for VCT is highly unusual.