ArticlePLoS medicine2005
Is it always unethical to use a placebo in a clinical trial?
Article in PLoS medicine, 2005. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 41 citations in OpenAlex.
- Therapeutic options for neurocardiogenic syncope: a meta-analysis of randomised trials with and without blinding.Open heart · 2024Pooled it
- A comparison of alternative ranking methods in two-stage clinical trials with multiple interventions: An application to the anxiolysis for laceration repair in children trial.Clinical trials (London, England) · 2024Article
- Effectiveness ofNarra J · 2023Article
- Childhood obesity intervention studies: A narrative review and guide for investigators, authors, editors, reviewers, journalists, and readers to guard against exaggerated effectiveness claims.Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity · 2019Review
- Comparison of home fortification with two iron formulations among Kenyan children: Rationale and design of a placebo-controlled non-inferiority trial.Contemporary clinical trials communications · 2017Article
- HELPinKids&Adults Knowledge Synthesis of the Management of Vaccination Pain and High Levels of Needle Fear: Limitations of the Evidence and Recommendations for Future Research.The Clinical journal of pain · 2015Review
- SPIRIT 2013 explanation and elaboration: guidance for protocols of clinical trials.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2013 · on this mapArticle
- The effects of industry sponsorship on comparator selection in trial registrations for neuropsychiatric conditions in children.PloS one · 2013Article
- Participants' experiences of being debriefed to placebo allocation in a clinical trial.Qualitative health research · 2012Article
- Evidence-based medicine in obstetrics: can levels B and C recommendations be elevated to level A recommendations?Obstetric medicine · 2009Article
- Article
- Ethical considerations in research involving children.Current allergy and asthma reports · 2005Review
- The debate over placebo-controlled trials.PLoS medicine · 2005Article
Corrections and comments
- Commented on by
Authors and funding
5 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
background to the debatePlacebos are used in trials to conceal whether a treatment is being given or not and hence to control for the psychosomatic effects of offering treatment. Placebo-controlled trials are controversial. Critics of such trials argue that if a proven effective therapy exists, a placebo should not be used. But proponents argue that placebo trials are still crucial to prove the efficacy and safety of many treatments.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.