Early closure
RECRUITMENT
The MAGIC trial opened to recruitment in July 2019. In early 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic severely disrupted the trial, which was halted and then reopened to recruitment in October 2020, closed again in February 2021, and re-opened again in June 2022. However, the ongoing pandemic led to challenges in drug supply, paediatric elective surgery list recovery (post-COVID), and therefore trial recruitment. With agreement from the trial steering committee and the trial funders, the trial was terminated early in November 2022, on the grounds of recruitment futility. A total of 110 participants were recruited to the trial; the original sample size was 624. Barriers to the recruitment of anxious children undergoing day-case surgery are discussed elsewhere.