Randomized Controlled Trials: Questions, Answers and Musings, 2nd Edition

by Alehandro R. Jadad (McMaster University, Ontario, Canada); Murray W. Enkin (McMaster University, Ontario, Canada)

• ISBN13: 9780470766163
• ISBN10: 0470766166
• Format: eBook
• Copyright: 2008-07-01
• Publisher: BMJ Books

Summary

Randomized controlled trials are one of the most powerful and revolutionary tools of research. This book is a convenient and accessible description of the underlying principles and practice of randomized controlled trials and their role in clinical decision-making. Structured in a jargon-free question-and-answer format, each chapter provides concise and understandable information on a different aspect of randomized controlled trials, from the basics of trial design and terminology to the interpretation of results and their use in driving evidence-based medicine. The authors end each chapter with their musings, going beyond the evidence or citations, and sometimes even beyond orthodox correctness to share their thoughts and concerns about different aspects of randomized controlled trials, and their role within the health system. Updated to include insights from the last decade, this second edition challenges over-reliance on randomized controlled trials by debating their strengths and limitations and discussing their optimal use in modern healthcare. It also includes a new and increasingly relevant chapter on the ethics of randomized trials. World renowned writers and thinkers Drs Jadad and Enkin bring you this invaluable book for busy health professionals who wish to understand the theory of randomized controlled trials and their influence on clinical, research or policy decisions.

Table of Contents

Foreword

Preface to the first edition

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments from the first edition

Introduction to the second edition

Introduction to the first edition

Randomized controlled trials: the basics

Types of randomized controlled trials

Bias in randomized controlled trials

Assessing the quality of randomized controlled trials: why, what, how, and by whom?

Reporting and interpreting individual trials: the essentials

From individual trials to groups of trials: reviews, meta-analyses, and guidelines

From trials to decisions: the basis of evidence-based health care

Ethics and clinical trials: are they compatible?

Reprise: more musings

Index

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