Common pitfalls of perioperative clinical trials in response to ‘Barriers and enablers to recruiting participants within paediatric perioperative and anaesthetic settings: lessons learned from a trial of melatonin versus midazolam in the premedication of anxious children (the MAGIC trial)’

In this issue, Hyslop and colleagues discuss challenges leading to inadequate enrolment and premature termination of the MAGIC trial, a multicentre randomised controlled trial of melatonin vs midazolam premedication for anxiety among children. The authors should be commended for sharing their experiences, as they underscore common pitfalls of well-intended trials in the perioperative setting, including issues with study design and implementation.