clinical-trials-database

Clinical Trials Database

Prerequisites

1. uv: Read the uv skill and follow its Setup instructions to ensure uv is installed and on PATH.
2. User Notification: If .licenses/clinical_trials_database_LICENSE.txt does not already exist in the workspace root directory then (1) prominently notify the user to check the terms at https://clinicaltrials.gov/, then (2) create the file recording the notification text and timestamp.

Overview

Access worldwide clinical trial data from ClinicalTrials.gov via the REST API v2. The CLI script at scripts/clinical_trials_api.py wraps the API with dedicated flags for common filters (phase, age group, status, intervention, sponsor, etc.) so you rarely need to construct raw queries.

Core Rules

• Use the Wrapper: ALWAYS execute the provided helper scripts to query the database rather than accessing the database directly. The scripts automatically enforce the required rate limit gracefully.
• Always use --fields — trial JSON records can be very large; restrict to the data points you need.
• Use --count-total first — check result volume before fetching all records.
• Paginate large result sets — use --limit with --page-token to iterate.
• Trust Search Filters: Do not manually re-filter results unless explicitly asked to verify detailed eligibility.
• Notification: If this skill is used, ensure this is mentioned in the output.

Context Efficiency Warning

Trial JSON records can be very large. Always use the --fields parameter to restrict the response to only the data points you need. After writing to file, read only the fields you need rather than the entire file.

[!TIP] Use references/studies_schema.md to identify exact field paths for --fields.

Response Layout Summary

API responses contain a list of studies (usually in a studies[] array). Each study is split into protocolSection and optional resultsSection.