PubMed Health⌕ Search
Home/Archive/PubMed

PubMed · 14986782

Sham surgery: an ethical analysis.

Franklin G Miller
View original source ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

Surgical clinical trials have seldom used a "sham" or placebo surgical procedure as a control, owing to ethical concerns. Recently, several ethical commentators have argued that sham surgery is either inherently or presumptively unethical. In this article I contend that these arguments are mistaken, and that there are no sound ethical reasons for an absolute prohibition of sham surgery in clinical trials. Reflecting on three cases of sham surgery, especially on the recently reported results of a sham-controlled trial of arthroscopic surgery for arthritis of the knee, I present an ethical analysis that focuses on the methodological rationale for use of sham surgery, risk-benefit assessment, and informed consent.

Explore related subjects

Angina PectorisArthroscopyBeneficenceDouble-Blind MethodFetal Tissue TransplantationHuman ExperimentationHumansInformed ConsentMammary ArteriesOsteoarthritis, KneeParkinson DiseasePlacebosRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicRisk AssessmentSurgical Procedures, OperativeJournal ArticleReview

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeXRIS

Franklin G Miller. 2004. Sham surgery: an ethical analysis.. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11948-004-0073-x

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related citations

PubMed2007

Effect of a hypoglycemic agent on ischemic preconditioning in patients with type 2 diabetes and stable angina pectoris.

OBJECTIVE: Ischemic preconditioning is an increased tolerance to myocardial ischemia during the second of two consecutive exercise tests. ATP-sensitive K(+) channel blockers, such as glinides and sulfonylurea drugs, can induce loss of ischemic preconditioning. This study aimed to investigate the effects of repaglinide, a hypoglycemic agent with an affinity for myocardial ATP-sensitive K (+)channels, on the results of consecutive exercise tests in patients with diabetes and multivessel coronary artery disease. METHODS: Forty-two patients with type 2 diabetes and chronic stable angina pectoris, and two-vessel or three-vessel disease participated in this study. The patients underwent two consecutive treadmill exercise tests (phase 1). On the day after these exercise tests, 2 mg of oral repaglinide was given to the patients. One week later, two exercise tests were repeated consecutively (phase 2). RESULTS: All patients achieved 1.0-mm ST-segment depression during the four exercise tests (T1, T2, T3, and T4). In phase 2, seven patients improved in time to onset of 1.0-mm ST-segment depression. The worsening of the time to onset of 1.0-mm ST-segment depression in phase 2 demonstrated ischemic preconditioning block in 83.3% of patients (P=0.0001). Even the postexercise electrocardiographic parameters (ST-segment depression morphology and magnitude and arrhythmias) were significantly different between the groups with and without pharmacologic ischemic preconditioning block (P=0.031). CONCLUSIONS: Repaglinide, an oral hypoglycemic agent with ATP-sensitive K(+) channel-blocker activity, eliminated the myocardial ischemic preconditioning in patients with coronary disease and diabetes.

Angina Pectoris↗