Why use a Placebo treatment group in clinical trials?
David: People get better. Treating any temporary condition in an uncontrolled trial and claiming cause-and-effect is flawed for obvious reasons it s highly likely that the subjects will get better regardless of treatment. Yet studies on ulcers, infections, wound healing, and so on are conducted and reported this way. Even chronic conditions (arthritis pain, erectile dysfunction) have ebbs and flows. Reporting changes from baseline will bias the results in favor of the treatment. People want to get better. Placebo-controlled clinical trials first appeared in the scientific literature circa 1915, but did not become common until around 1960. In uncontrolled evaluations of hundreds of substances and surgical approaches later proved ineffective, 25-80% of patients report improvements. Even in the context of blinded, controlled clinical trials, 40-45% of placebo-receiving arthritis patients report pain relief and 25-30% of men with erectile dysfunction report improved sexual functionality. T
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