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PubMed · 12709266

Choosing a control intervention for a randomised clinical trial.

Howard Mann·Benjamin Djulbegovic
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Abstract

BACKGROUND: Randomised controlled clinical trials are performed to resolve uncertainty concerning comparator interventions. Appropriate acknowledgment of uncertainty enables the concurrent achievement of two goals : the acquisition of valuable scientific knowledge and an optimum treatment choice for the patient-participant. The ethical recruitment of patients requires the presence of clinical equipoise. This involves the appropriate choice of a control intervention, particularly when unapproved drugs or innovative interventions are being evaluated. DISCUSSION: We argue that the choice of a control intervention should be supported by a systematic review of the relevant literature and, where necessary, solicitation of the informed beliefs of clinical experts through formal surveys and publication of the proposed trial's protocol. SUMMARY: When clinical equipoise is present, physicians may confidently propose trial enrollment to their eligible patients as an act of therapeutic beneficence.

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Control GroupsHumansPatient SelectionRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicJournal Article

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Howard Mann, Benjamin Djulbegovic. 2003-04-22. Choosing a control intervention for a randomised clinical trial.. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2288-3-7

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