# Forensic Audit: Zombie Trials & Silent Completions

In research integrity, does forensic screening of ClinicalTrials.gov records reveal systematic transparency failures in African clinical research that warrant investigation? This forensic audit screened 23,873 African trial records for zombie protocols (unknown status exceeding five years), silent completions (results withheld over two years), and parachute research indicators through March 2026. Among 13,918 completed African trials, an estimated thirty percent had withheld results for over two years, and 24% remained in unknown or ambiguous status categories. The 522 terminated and 144 withdrawn African trials had lower rates of results reporting than completed trials. These forensic markers suggest a pattern of selective transparency where the data contribution of African participants is harvested for regulatory submissions but never returned to the public evidence base. These findings quantify research transparency as a measurable integrity dimension requiring systematic reform. Interpretation is limited by the automated nature of forensic screening which requires manual follow-up to distinguish administrative delays from genuine transparency failures.

## References

1. Alemayehu C, et al. "Behind the mask of the African clinical trials landscape." Trials. 2018;19:519.
2. Drain PK, et al. "Global migration of clinical trials." Nat Rev Drug Discov. 2018;17:765-766.

## Note Block

- Type: research
- App: https://mahmood726-cyber.github.io/africa-e156-students/governance-justice/dashboards/forensic-audit.html
- Code: https://github.com/mahmood726-cyber/africa-e156-students/blob/master/governance-justice/code/forensic-audit.py
- Data: ClinicalTrials.gov API v2
- Date: 2026-04-05