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Is it always unethical to use a placebo in a clinical trial?
Andreas Stang1, Hans-Werner Hense, Karl-Heinz Jöckel
1Institute of Medical Epidemiology, Biometry, and Informatics at the Medical Faculty of the Martin-Luther-University of Halle-Wittenberg, Germany. andreas.stang@medizin.uni-halle.de
Background To The Debate:
Placebos are used in trials to conceal whether a treatment is being given or not and hence to control for the psychosomatic effects of offering treatment. Placebo-controlled trials are controversial. Critics of such trials argue that if a proven effective therapy exists, a placebo should not be used. But proponents argue that placebo trials are still crucial to prove the efficacy and safety of many treatments.
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