Effect of investigator bias on clinical trials
- 1 February 1989
- journal article
- research article
- Published by American Medical Association (AMA) in Archives of Dermatology
- Vol. 125 (2) , 216-218
- https://doi.org/10.1001/archderm.125.2.216
Abstract
Two clinical trials were performed to determine the relative efficacy of tioconazole, a new antifungal agent for treating patients with tinea pedis. One study compared the new agent with a placebo cream and the other with miconazole nitrate, an established effective antifungal agent. The investigators found a much higher "cure" rate for tiocanazole when both treatment groups were known to receive active agents than the cure rate for tioconazole found in the placebo-controlled study. These results showed that the expectations of investigators can influence their clinical evaluations. Such bias could also influence the results of clinical trials.This publication has 0 references indexed in Scilit: