What is a Randomized Control Trial?
Transcript: Guest: Dr. Terry O’Brien – Cardiology Host: Dr. Pam Morris – Cardiology Dr. Pam Morris: Hi, I am Dr. Pam Morris and I am here with Dr. Terry O’Brien who is Professor of Medicine and Director of Clinical Cardiovascular Research at the Medical University of South Carolina. We were talking earlier today about randomized control trials. What is a randomized control trial, and how do we use that to study the benefits of a new drug? Dr. Terry O’Brien: That is an excellent question, Pam. If one has a new medication or device that you think, based on your preliminary work, will benefit people, then one has to eventually apply it to human beings. This causes a certain very high standard of ethics that have to be applied. Basically, what you do is you offer the patient the very best standard of care therapy and then you do it with, or without, the new therapy. You explain to the patients the potential benefits, based on the preliminary work that has been done, or the potential risks,
