Clinical Trials Flashcards
What is the definition of a clinical trial?
Any form of planned experiment which involves patients and is designed to elucidate the most appropriate method of treatment for future patients with a given medical condition
What is the purpose of a clinical trial?
To provide reliable evidence of treatment efficacy and safety
In order to be able to give a fair comparison of effect and safety, what must a clinical trial be?
Reproducible, controlled and fair
What are the problems with non-randomised clinical trials?
Allocation bias and confounding
What are the advantages of random allocation?
Minimal allocation bias, minimal confounding
What is a placebo?
An inert substance made to appear identical in every way to the active formulation with which it is to be compared
What is clinical equipoise?
When there is reasonable uncertainty or genuine ignorance about the better treatment or intervention
