Inadequate comparators produce misleading results – the importance of good comparison practice

While comparison is the basis of good clinical research, incorrect comparisons are likely to produce misleading results, and may cause unnecessary harm to patients. A well known example is that comparing a new drug with an inactive placebo may suggest added value, while comparison with already available drugs would have shown that the new one has no added value or is even less effective. Therefore, drug registration authorities should require head-to-head comparisons with the current standard of practice, based on comparative effectiveness research [1,2].
Source: Journal of Clinical Epidemiology - Category: Epidemiology Authors: Tags: Editorial Source Type: research
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