An Observational Study Goes Where Randomized Clinical Trials Have Not

Clinical research in anaesthesia; randomized controlled trials or observational studies?

The new millennium has seen a consolidation of the difficulties in pursuing clinical research in anaesthesia. Anaesthesia is rarely seen as a specialty with a high academic profile [1]. Universities have been encouraged to concentrate their research effort on basic sciences, and research in clinical medicine has concentrated on those areas with a large impact on public health. In the UK cancer,...

Clinical research in anaesthesia; randomized controlled trials or observational studies?

The new millennium has seen a consolidation of the difficulties in pursuing clinical research in anaesthesia. Anaesthesia is rarely seen as a specialty with a high academic profile [1]. Universities have been encouraged to concentrate their research effort on basic sciences, and research in clinical medicine has concentrated on those areas with a large impact on public health. In the UK cancer,...

Randomized Clinical Trials on Trial: Have They Lost Their Appeal?

Clinical review Observational studies as alternatives randomized clinical trials in surgical clinical research

CLINICAL EPIDEMIOLOGY AS A DISCIPLINE has evolved rapidly dur ing the last decade. However, application of epidemiotogic principles in surgical clinical research has been limited. In the March 1996 issue of SURGERY we discussed the principles, application, and limitations of randomized clinical trials (RCTs) in surgery. RCTs are often viewed as the gold standard for evaluation of therapeutic ef...

Can Observational Data Replace Randomized Trials?

TO THE EDITOR: The increasing complexity and cost of conducting randomized trials have stimulated interest in using observational data sets to evaluate cancer treatments. Determining the causal effect of treatments from observational data is, however, challenging because more aggressive treatments are selectively prescribed for patients with adverse disease characteristics or favorable comorbid...