What's in Placebos: Who Knows? Analysis of Randomized, Controlled Trials

@article{Golomb2010WhatsIP,
  title={What's in Placebos: Who Knows? Analysis of Randomized, Controlled Trials},
  author={Beatrice Alexandra Golomb and Laura C. Erickson and Sabrina Koperski and D Sack and Murray W. Enkin and Jeremy Howick},
  journal={Annals of Internal Medicine},
  year={2010},
  volume={153},
  pages={532 - 535}
}
BACKGROUND No regulations govern placebo composition. The composition of placebos can influence trial outcomes and merits reporting. PURPOSE To assess how often investigators specify the composition of placebos in randomized, placebo-controlled trials. DATA SOURCES 4 English-language general and internal medicine journals with high impact factors. STUDY SELECTION 3 reviewers screened titles and abstracts of the journals to identify randomized, placebo-controlled trials published from… 
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56 Citations
Highly Influential Citations
2
Background Citations
16
Methods Citations
3
Results Citations
3

56 Citations

Inadequate description of placebo and sham controls in a review of recent trials
TLDR
Placebo and sham controls are poorly described within randomised trials, and TIDieR is rarely used to guide these descriptions, and developing guidelines to promote better descriptions of placebo/sham control components within clinical trials is recommended.
TIDieR-Placebo: A guide and checklist for reporting placebo and sham controls
TLDR
A modification of the existing Template for Intervention Description and Replication (TIDieR) checklist, which allows the key features of both active interventions and placebo or sham controls to be concisely summarised by researchers.
Are Treatments More Effective than Placebos? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
TLDR
Treatment and placebo effects were not different in 22 out of 28 predefined subgroup analyses, and when all criteria for reducing bias were ruled out (continuous outcomes) placebos were more effective than treatments.
The Definition of Placebo in the Informed Consent Forms of Clinical Trials
Aim Lack of knowledge concerning the nature of placebo and why it is necessary may influence the participation of patients in clinical trials. The objective of the present study is to review how…
When and Why Placebo-Prescribing Is Acceptable and Unacceptable: A Focus Group Study of Patients' Views
TLDR
When and why placebo-prescribing in primary care might be acceptable and unacceptable to patients is identified and optimal ways of harnessing placebo effects in clinical practice are needed.
A history of the placebo
TLDR
This study examines different treatments that have been applied throughout the history of medicine and finds the placebo effect is very important in clinical trials, considering that the placebo is the gold standard against which treatments are compared in these studies.
Empirical evidence against placebo controls
TLDR
The evidence presented in this paper suggests that the Declaration of Helsinki be reconsidered, and perhaps revised, in light of actual practice, and what clinical investigators believe to be ethically acceptable.
Selective reporting of outcomes in randomised trials can bias conclusions of systematic reviews
TLDR
Systematic reviews are generally viewed as the highest levels of evidence but inadequate reporting could bias results, and among the 42 systematic reviews that reported statistically signifi cant results, 8 of 42 became non-signifi cant, and 11 of 42 overestimated the treatment effect.
What Are the Benefits of a New Placebo Language?
TLDR
The benefits of new terms such as "meaning response" and "contextual healing" allow for clearer descriptions of phenomena and wider appreciation of the contextual aspects of medical practice.
Using placebo medications in the clinical setting - an intellectual game or a possible reality?
TLDR
Current use of placebo treatments in the healthcare system is described and it is suggested that placebo therapy thrives and that its therapeutic efficacy is widely acknowledged.
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