[EDTA treatment of arteriosclerosis. Bias or manipulation?]

A 62-year-old man suffering intermittent claudication had 20 infusions of EDTA in a double blind, placebo controlled trial. No effect on symptoms or systolic ankle/brachial blood pressure index was found. Following the trial, he received 30 further infusions of EDTA in a private clinic. The systolic ankle/brachial index was unchanged throughout the total period as measured in Hillerød Central Hospital. However, the private clinic found a significant increase in the index following EDTA treatment. The reason for this discrepancy could be poor technique in the clinic or it could be due to bias or manipulation. The discrepancy explains the difference between the positive results claimed by the private EDTA clinics and the results of the double blind placebo controlled Danish trial.