[Comment] Introducing a history of key trials in The Lancet

The introduction of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) by the UK Medical Research Council (MRC) in the 1940s constitutes one of the most important experimental advances in modern medicine.1 Through the examination of the efficacy —or otherwise—of drugs and other interventions, RCTs have become the essential scientific arbiter through which treatments are translated from the laboratory to the clinic. Meanwhile, the fundamental methods that underpin the RCT—quantitative thought and the basic principles of randomisation, replication, and unbiased observation—have led to improvements in health care and evidence-based medicine.
Source: LANCET - Category: General Medicine Authors: Tags: Comment Source Type: research