placebo-controlled
Against inert treatment
Placebo-controlled describes a study design where some participants receive an inactive treatment (a placebo) while others receive the treatment being tested.
This allows researchers to distinguish genuine effects from psychological responses or natural improvement: a placebo-controlled trial of the new antidepressant.
The gold standard in clinical research is the double-blind, placebo-controlled study, where neither participants nor researchers know who receives what.
Arranged by chance
- double-blindNeither tester nor tested knows
- blindedDeprived of vision
- crossoverGenre-blending work or transition
- single-blindPartially concealed experimental design
multicenter · prospective · washout · allocation · stratified · counterbalanced · masked · unblinded
Ability to produce results
- safetyFreedom from harm
- therapeutic effectHealth improvement from treatment
- statistical significanceUnlikely due to chance
- p-valueProbability under null hypothesis
confidence interval · baseline · follow-up · assessment · measurement · validity · superiority · equivalence
Test of experimental medication
- investigationalUnder formal testing
- FDA approvalOfficial drug safety certification
- pharmaceuticalManufactured medicinal compound
- dosageMeasured medicine amount
formulation · bioavailability · pharmacokinetics · tolerability · drug interaction · indication · off-label · sponsor
randomized
Arranged by chance
- double-blindNeither tester nor tested knows
- blindedDeprived of vision
- crossoverGenre-blending work or transition
single-blind · multicenter · prospective · washout · allocation · stratified · counterbalanced · masked · unblinded · factorial
efficacy
Ability to produce results
- safetyFreedom from harm
- therapeutic effectHealth improvement from treatment
- statistical significanceUnlikely due to chance
p-value · confidence interval · baseline · follow-up · assessment · measurement · validity · superiority · equivalence
drug trial
Test of experimental medication
- investigationalUnder formal testing
- FDA approvalOfficial drug safety certification
- pharmaceuticalManufactured medicinal compound
dosage · formulation · bioavailability · pharmacokinetics · tolerability · drug interaction · indication · off-label · sponsor · investigator
- Placebossugar pill, dummy pill, nocebo effect
- study designsclinical trial, randomized trial, cross-sectional, pilot study, case study
placebo-controlleduncontrolled
Lacking any regulation
non-controlled · unblinded · anecdotal · observational · non-randomized
placebo, placebos, control, controls, controlled, controlling, controller, controllers, controllable