Skip to content
Home
About Us
Resources
Profiles Metrics
Authors Directory
Institutions Directory
Top Authors
Top Institutions
Top Sponsors
AI Digest
Contact Us
Menu
Home
About Us
Resources
Profiles Metrics
Authors Directory
Institutions Directory
Top Authors
Top Institutions
Top Sponsors
AI Digest
Contact Us
Home
About Us
Resources
Profiles Metrics
Authors Directory
Institutions Directory
Top Authors
Top Institutions
Top Sponsors
AI Digest
Contact Us
Menu
Home
About Us
Resources
Profiles Metrics
Authors Directory
Institutions Directory
Top Authors
Top Institutions
Top Sponsors
AI Digest
Contact Us
Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
medicine
The limitations of using randomised controlled trials as a basis for developing treatment guidelines
Evidence-Based Mental Health, Volume 21, No. 1, Year 2018
Notification
URL copied to clipboard!
Description
Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) are considered the 'gold standard' by which novel psychotropic medications and psychological interventions are evaluated and consequently adopted into widespread clinical practice. However, there are some limitations to using RCTs as the basis for developing treatment guidelines. While RCTs allow researchers to determine whether a given medication or intervention is effective in a specific patient sample, for practicing clinicians it is more important to know whether it will work for their particular patient in their particular setting. This information cannot be garnered from an RCT. These inherent limitations are exacerbated by biases in design, recruitment, sample populations and data analysis that are inevitable in real-world studies. While trial registration and CONSORT have been implemented to correct and improve these issues, it is worrying that many trials fail to achieve such standards and yet their findings are used to inform clinical decision making. This perspective piece questions the assumptions of RCTs and highlights the widespread distortion of findings that currently undermine the credibility of this powerful design. It is recommended that the clinical guidelines include advice as to what should be considered good and relevant evidence and that external bodies continue to monitor RCTs to ensure that the outcomes published indeed reflect reality. © 2018 BMJ Publishing Group. All rights reserved.
Authors & Co-Authors
Mulder, Roger T.
New Zealand, Christchurch
University of Otago, Christchurch
Baune, Bernhard T.
Australia, Adelaide
The University of Adelaide
Berk, Michael
Australia, Geelong
Barwon Health
Australia, Melbourne
Orygen Research Centre
Parker, Gordon B.
Australia, Kensington
University of new South Wales Faculty of Medicine, School of Psychiatry
Australia, Sydney
Black Dog Institute
Malhi, Gin Singh
Australia, Sydney
Northern Sydney Local Health District
Statistics
Citations: 51
Authors: 5
Affiliations: 10
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1136/eb-2017-102701
ISSN:
13620347
Research Areas
Health System And Policy
Study Design
Randomised Control Trial
Study Approach
Quantitative