Imported from yorkeccak/scientific-skills (skills/clinical-trials-search/SKILL.md). Install upstream with npx skills add yorkeccak/scientific-skills --skill clinical-trials-search. Copyright stays with the author (MIT).

Clinical Trials Search

Search the complete ClinicalTrials.gov database of clinical studies using natural language queries powered by Valyu's semantic search API.

Why This Skill is Powerful

• No API Parameter Parsing: Just pass natural language queries directly - no need to construct complex search parameters
• Semantic Search: Understands the meaning of your query, not just keyword matching
• Full-Text Access: Returns complete trial information including phases, conditions, interventions, and outcomes
• Image Links: Includes data visualizations when available
• Comprehensive Coverage: Access to all ClinicalTrials.gov data

Requirements

1. Node.js 18+ (uses built-in fetch)
2. Valyu API key from https://platform.valyu.ai ($10 free credits)

CRITICAL: Script Path Resolution

The scripts/search commands in this documentation are relative to this skill's installation directory.

Before running any command, locate the script using:

CLINICAL_TRIALS_SCRIPT=$(find ~/.claude/plugins/cache -name "search" -path "*/clinical-trials-search/*/scripts/*" -type f 2>/dev/null | head -1)

Then use the full path for all commands:

$CLINICAL_TRIALS_SCRIPT "CAR-T cell therapy trials" 15

API Key Setup Flow

When you run a search and receive "setup_required": true, follow this flow:

1. Ask the user for their API key: "To search ClinicalTrials.gov, I need your Valyu API key. Get one free ($10 credits) at https://platform.valyu.ai"

2. Once the user provides the key, run:

   scripts/search setup <api-key>

3. Retry the original search.

When to Use This Skill

• Finding ongoing and completed clinical trials
• Identifying trial eligibility criteria
• Recruiting status and enrollment information
• Comparing treatment approaches in trials
• Patient recruitment and enrollment research
• Outcomes and safety data from trials

Output Format

{
  "success": true,
  "type": "clinical_trials_search",
  "query": "CAR-T cell therapy trials",
  "result_count": 10,
  "results": [
    {
      "title": "Trial Title",
      "url": "https://clinicaltrials.gov/...",
      "content": "Trial details, phase, conditions, outcomes...",
      "source": "clinical-trials",
      "relevance_score": 0.95,
      "images": []
    }
  ],
  "cost": 0.025
}

Processing Results

With jq

# Get trial titles
scripts/search "query" 10 | jq -r '.results[].title'

# Get URLs
scripts/search "query" 10 | jq -r '.results[].url'

# Extract full content
scripts/search "query" 10 | jq -r '.results[].content'

Common Use Cases

Drug Development

# Find drug trials
scripts/search "phase 2 trials for Alzheimer's disease" 50

Treatment Research

# Search for treatment studies
scripts/search "checkpoint inhibitor combinations in lung cancer" 20

Medical Device Studies

# Find device trials
scripts/search "continuous glucose monitoring device studies" 15

Intervention Analysis

# Search for intervention studies
scripts/search "behavioral interventions for obesity" 25

Error Handling

All commands return JSON with success field:

{
  "success": false,
  "error": "Error message"
}

Exit codes:

• 0 - Success
• 1 - Error (check JSON for details)

API Endpoint

• Base URL: https://api.valyu.ai/v1
• Endpoint: /search
• Authentication: X-API-Key header

Architecture

scripts/
├── search          # Bash wrapper
└── search.mjs      # Node.js CLI

Direct API calls using Node.js built-in fetch(), zero external dependencies.

Adding to Your Project

If you're building an AI project and want to integrate Clinical Trials Search directly into your application, use the Valyu SDK:

Python Integration

from valyu import Valyu

client = Valyu(api_key="your-api-key")

response = client.search(
    query="your search query here",
    included_sources=["valyu/valyu-clinical-trials"],
    max_results=20
)

for result in response["results"]:
    print(f"Title: {result['title']}")
    print(f"URL: {result['url']}")
    print(f"Content: {result['content'][:500]}...")

TypeScript Integration

import { Valyu } from "valyu-js";

const client = new Valyu("your-api-key");

const response = await client.search({
  query: "your search query here",
  includedSources: ["valyu/valyu-clinical-trials"],
  maxResults: 20
});

response.results.forEach((result) => {
  console.log(`Title: ${result.title}`);
  console.log(`URL: ${result.url}`);
  console.log(`Content: ${result.content.substring(0, 500)}...`);
});

See the Valyu docs for full integration examples and SDK reference.