The Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial

Abstract

Randomized controlled clinical trials (RCTs) are among the most difficult and expensive of scientific studies. A typical multiclinic study sponsored by a pharmaceutical firm will recruit 200 to 300 patients and cost $1 million to 3 million. A typical multiclinic study sponsored by government agencies like the National Institutes of Health in the United States or the Medical Research Council in the United Kingdom will recruit thousands of patients and cost tens or hundreds of millions of dollars. A study designed to follow patients for 6 months to a year will take 3 to 4 years to recruit enough patients and several more years to analyze the data after the last patient has completed. Not only do RCTs use up large amounts of research money and resources, they also have their costs in the most precious of commodities, human suffering.