Is it ethical to use a placebo? The answer to this questionwill depend, I suggest, upon whether there is already availablean orthodox treatment of proved or accepted value. If thereis such an orthodox treatment the question will hardly arise,for the doctor will wish to know whether a new treatment ismore, or less, effective than the old, not that it is more effectivethan nothing.
-- A. Bradford Hill1
Unaccountably, in these times of raised ethical consciousness,placebo treatments are still commonly used in medical researchin circumstances in which their use is unethical. We refer . . . [Full Text of this Article]
The Ethics of Placebo Controls
Ivermectin Trial
Rheumatoid Arthritis Trials
Antidepressant-Drug Trials
Ondansetron Trials
Trials of Drugs for Congestive Heart Failure
Antihypertensive-Drug Trials
Placebo Controls and Drug Approval
Is There a Scientific Rationale for Placebos?
Establishing a Reference Point
Avoiding Difficult Decisions about Comparison Treatments
Bolstering Statistical Significance
Ethical Counterarguments
Recommendations
References
Related Letters:
The Use of Placebo Controls
Schechter C., Cagliano S., Traversa G., Taylor H. R., Nash S. D., Gilbert E. M., Packer M., Cleophas T. J.M., Pohl R., Balon R., Denny W. F., Sramek J. J., Cutler N. R., Solomon D. A., Rothman K. J., Michels K. B.
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N Engl J Med 1995;
332:60-62, Jan 5, 1995.
Correspondence
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