4 ms·
> This is a research question you can't answer with a prospective analysis either, because it's not ethical to randomize whether you're removing a body part. B
by Calavar 3y ago
> This is a research question you can't answer with a prospective analysis either, because it's not ethical to randomize whether you're removing a body part.
But that's exactly what we did with the appendix, multiple times [1, 2].
[1] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26080338/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26080338/
[2] https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/nejmoa2014320 https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/nejmoa2014320
- mlyle 3y agoI had thought about this and had amended this to "in most cases" before you posted. If the standard of care is removing the appendix, and you have a strong reason to believe that something less may be superior, you may be able to conduct a randomized trial. But any other combination of facts is going to be hard for an IRB to swallow.