Reporting methods of blinding in randomized trials assessing nonpharmacological treatments.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Blinding is a cornerstone of treatment evaluation. Blinding is more difficult to obtain in trials assessing nonpharmacological treatment and frequently relies on "creative" (nonstandard) methods. The purpose of this study was to systematically describe the strategies used to obtain blinding in a sample of randomized controlled trials of nonpharmacological treatment.

Methods and findings

We systematically searched in Medline and the Cochrane Methodology Register for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) assessing nonpharmacological treatment with blinding, published during 2004 in high-impact-factor journals. Data were extracted using a standardized extraction form. We identified 145 articles, with the method of blinding described in 123 of the reports. Methods of bl

SUBMITTER: Boutron I 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1800311 | biostudies-literature | 2007 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature