2 ms·
If the drug is effective and safe, then one half of the patients lost out on the benefit. You are intentionally "sacrificing" the control arm. (Of course, the
by atombender 2y ago
If the drug is effective and safe, then one half of the patients lost out on the benefit. You are intentionally "sacrificing" the control arm.
(Of course, the whole point is that the benefit and safety are not certain, so I think the term "sacrifice" used in the article is misleading.)
- kridsdale1 2y agoAnd the control group is also sacrificed from potentially deadly side effects.
- rogerrogerr 2y agoMy understanding is they usually do small trials early where they figure out if there are deadly side effects, and then do larger effectiveness trials once there’s determined to be minimal danger. So being in the control group is probably a negative thing on average.