Contents 1 Randomised controlled trials: the basics Questions 2 Types of randomised controlled trials Questions 3 Bias in RCTs: beyond the sequence generation Questions 4 Assessing the quality of RCTs: why, what, how, and by whom? Questions 5 Reporting and interpreting individual trials: the essentials Questions 6 From individual trials to groups of trials: reviews, meta-analyses, and guidelines Questions 7 From trials to decisions: the basis of evidence based health care Questions 8 My wish list: thinking it all over		A user’s guide Alejandro R Jadad Questions 1 Randomised controlled trials: the basics Questions: What is a randomised controlled trial? Are the elements of the RCTs very different from other studies? What does random allocation mean? What is the purpose of random allocation? How can randomisation be achieved? What can be randomised in RCTs? Can RCTs answer all clinical questions? 2 Types of randomised controlled trials Questions: RCTs that explore different aspects of the interventions: What is the difference between explanatory and pragmatic trials? What is the difference between efficacy and effectiveness? What are phase I, II and III trials? RCTs according to the participants' exposure to the interventions: What is a parallel design? What is a cross-over design? What is a factorial design? RCTs according to the number of participants: Is it possible for an RCT to have only one participant? What is a mega-trial? What is a sequential trial? What is a fixed size trial? RCTs according to whether the investigators and participants know which intervention is being assessed: What is an open RCT? What is a single-blind RCT? What is a double-blind RCT? What is a triple-blind or quadruple-blind RCT? RCTs that take into account preferences of non-prandomised individuals and participants: What is a trial with Zelen's design? What is a trial with comprehensive cohort design? What is a trial with Wennberg's design? 3 Bias in RCTs: beyond the sequence generation Questions: What is bias? How can you tell that bias is present in an RCT? What are the main types of bias in RCTs? What biases can occur during the course of a trial? What biases can occur during dissemination of the trials? What biases can occur during the uptake of information by users? 4 Assessing the quality of RCTs: why, what, how, and by whom? Questions: What is quality? What type of tools can be used to assess trial quality? What is involved in developing a new tool to assess trial quality? How many tools exist to evaluate trial quality? What are the characteristics of the validated tool to assess trial quality? Who should do the assessments and how? How can the quality assessments be used? Will the quality of RCTs improve? 5 Reporting and interpreting individual trials: the essentials Questions: What are the key elements of a trial report needed to interpret its results with confidence? Is the topic addressed by the trial interesting to you? Are the trial results likely to be unbiased? How can you determine if you would be able to use the results of a trial? Is the trial important enough for you to remember and use? Should you base your decisions on the results of a single trial? 6 From individual trials to groups of trials: reviews, meta-analyses, and guidelines Questions: What are the main impediments to identifying all relevant trials on a given topic? What is the best source of RCTs? Are there ways to make it easier to find and use multiple RCTs? What are the different types of reviews? What is a narrative review? What is a systematic review? What is meta-analysis? Are systematic reviews and meta-analysis the same thing? How can a systematic review not be a meta-analysis? Is it possible to use meta-analysis in a review that is not systematic? How can you evaluate the quality of a review? Do reviews on the same topic always agree? Can rigorous reviews eliminate the need for further trials? What is the role of the Cochrane Collaboration in all this? Should systematic reviews include only RCTs? What is the difference between systematic reviews and clinical practice guidelines? 7 From trials to decisions: the basis of evidence based health care Questions: What types of information can be used to make health care decisions? What are the different types of research studies? What is the role of anecdotal information in decisions? How can information be integrated into decisions? What is evidence based health care? What are elements of EBHC? What steps should be followed during the practice of EBHC? What are the potential advantages of an evidence based approach to health care? What are the potential dangers of an evidence based approach to health care? What barriers exist to the practice of EBHC? What can you do to overcome the limitations to the practice of EBHC? Buy your copy of Randomised Controlled Trials from the BMJ Bookshop website
	Home | Contents | Foreword | Introduction | Acknowledgments | How to order  © BMJ Books 1998. BMJ Books is an imprint of the BMJ Publishing Group. First published in 1998 by BMJ Books, BMA House, Tavistock Square, London WC1H 9JR. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN 0-7279-1208-9