Trial reportThe British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners2005
Using n-of-1 trials as a clinical tool to improve prescribing.
Trial report in The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners, 2005. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 42 papers, 3 of them syntheses 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
42 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Immediate-release methylphenidate for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in adults.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2021Pooled it
- Application of n-of-1 treatment trials in schizophrenia: systematic review.The British journal of psychiatry : the journal of mental science · 2018Pooled it
- Methylphenidate for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children and adolescents - assessment of adverse events in non-randomised studies.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2018Pooled it
- Acupressure and hypnosis in arterial hypertension: a series of N-of-1 trials.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Trial
- Patient preference for second- and third-line therapies in type 2 diabetes: a prespecified secondary endpoint of the TriMaster study.Nature medicine · 2023Trial
- A Randomized Placebo-ControlledCanadian journal of gastroenterology & hepatology · 2019Trial
- Using N-of-1 trials to improve patient management and save costs.Journal of general internal medicine · 2010Trial
- Article
- The N-of-1 Trials and where to use them in Rheumatology.Mediterranean journal of rheumatology · 2025Review
- The development of a set of key points to aid clinicians and researchers in designing and conducting n-of-1 trials.Trials · 2024Article
- An Efficient Way to Find Optimal Crossover Designs Using CVX for Precision Medicine.Journal of data science, statistics, and visualisation · 2024Article
- A review of the WHO strategy on traditional, complementary, and integrative medicine from the perspective of academic consortia for integrative medicine and health.Frontiers in medicine · 2024Review
- Protocol for randomized personalized trial for stress management compared to standard of care.Frontiers in psychology · 2023Article
- Article
- N-of-1 trials to facilitate evidence-based deprescribing: Rationale and case study.British journal of clinical pharmacology · 2022Review
- Article
- Personalized (N-of-1) Trials for Patient-Centered Treatments of Multimorbidity.Harvard data science review · 2022Article
- Status of N-of-1 Trials in Chronic Pain Management: A Narrative Review.Pain and therapy · 2021Review
- Comparing pregabalin and gabapentin for persistent neuropathic pain: A protocol for a pilot N-of-1 trial series.Contemporary clinical trials communications · 2021Article
- Establishment of an International Collaborative Network for N-of-1 Trials and Single-Case Designs.Contemporary clinical trials communications · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
- Commented on by
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundN-of-1 trials are within-patient, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled cross-over comparisons of two drugs for chronic illnesses. We have investigated the use of these, offered to doctors as individualised medication effectiveness tests (IMETs), as a tool to improve drug prescribing.
aimTo examine patient perspectives and experiences of n-of-1 trials. DESIGN OF STUDY: We provided n-of-1 trials for osteoarthritis (OA), comparing paracetamol and ibuprofen; and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), comparing dexamphetamine or methylphenidate and placebo. Patients or their carers were surveyed before and after the trials by questionnaire, and after the trial by semistructured interview with thematic analysis.
settingAustralian community-based patients and practitioners.
methodForty-two patients with OA and 21 carers of patients with ADHD, for whom the effectiveness of proposed or existing medication was uncertain, completed the questionnaires, and 25 patients/carers (11 with OA and 14 with ADHD) participated in semi-structured interviews.
resultsPatients in this purposive sample were generally very satisfied with the n-of-1 trial process. Their participation led to increased knowledge, awareness and understanding of their condition, their bodies' response to it, and its management. Some of this arose specifically from use of daily symptom diaries. This led to a sense of empowerment and control as well as improved individually-focused care.
conclusionsN-of-1 trials appeared to empower these patients as a result of both collecting information about their responses to different treatment options, and participating actively in subsequent therapeutic decisions. They are a patient-centred intervention that may improve medication management in suitable chronic diseases.
Indexed as
Identifiers
15808031PMC1463086What 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.