Tag Archives: Randomized Controlled Trials

What are the responsibilities of clinical researchers?

Posted on 18 September 2013 by Keith Barrington

One of the presentations at the OHRP hearings of the HHS was by George Annas, a JD who has an MPH (for those outside of north america that means he is a lawyer, but with a masters in public health). … Continue reading →

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Pluto, not just a planet anymore.

Posted on 11 September 2013 by Keith Barrington

Or should that be, not even a planet… One other thing I wanted to mention about the PLUTO trial is the entry criterion. The main entry criterion was the presence of clear lower urinary tract obstruction in a male fetus, … Continue reading →

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Who was Bayes, and what did he know about medical research?

Posted on 11 September 2013 by Keith Barrington

I don’t have much detail to answer the first question: he was an 18th century English mathematician who wrote something about probability, that was published after he died. That publication described something called Bayes’ theorem which is a way of … Continue reading →

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Pre-SUPPORT, what did we really know?

Posted on 7 September 2013 by Keith Barrington

One of the misplaced criticisms that have been made about the SUPPORT trial and the consent forms was that we should have known before the trial that there would be a difference in mortality, and that there would be a … Continue reading →

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Comparative Effectiveness Research: a parable

Posted on 29 August 2013 by Keith Barrington

Two neonatologists work in the same NICU. One of them routinely starts assisted ventilation of babies with volume ventilation, the other starts with pressure ventilation. There is controversy in the literature and in practice among currently active neonatologists; some preliminary … Continue reading →

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Is volume ventilation really better?

Posted on 29 August 2013 by Keith Barrington

A systematic review published in 2011 of the studies comparing pressure to volume ventilation stated that there was ‘reduced death/BPD, duration of ventilation, pneumothoraces, hypocarbia and periventricular leukomalacia/severe intraventricular hemorrhage’ using volume targeted ventilation.’ I think it may be true that volume ventilation … Continue reading →

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Commenting on Nature

Posted on 28 August 2013 by Keith Barrington

The editorial in Nature about the SUPPORT controversy has now been opened for comments. It wasn’t when I first mentioned it. I just left a comment, which may not be available until they have read it to make sure I … Continue reading →

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Is cows milk just for cows?

Posted on 26 August 2013 by Keith Barrington

A new publication from the trial funded by Prolacta looking at possible benefits of their donor-human-milk derived preparations. This time it is the other comparison from the registered trial. That is; mothers who did not plan to breast feed were approached to … Continue reading →

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We didn’t find what we wanted to find, so we thought we’d re-analyze the data until we found it.

Posted on 26 August 2013 by Keith Barrington

…oh and by the way, we are the manufacturers making the product in question, so we had objective scientific reasons for doing this, no conflict of interest whatever. The commercial sponsors of a negative trial decided that they didn’t like … Continue reading →

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Public Citizen are a public danger: part 2

Posted on 24 August 2013 by Keith Barrington

The other part of the criticisms of Public Citizen, included in their letter to the secretary of the HSS in the USA, in which they call for the TOP (transfusion of preterms) trial to be stopped immediately, are regarding the … Continue reading →

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