Multicenter trial analysis. Fluocinonide and betamethasone gel in psoriasis

The relative efficacy of fluocinonide and betamethasone benzoate gels in treating the symptoms of psoriasis was evaluated in 335 patients, of whom 263 were analyzable. By means of a paired comparison design in which both drugs were examined simultaneously in the same patient, many potential sources of variation were eliminated. In addition, the analysis took into account the difficulties of pooling results in a multicenter trial. Imposing a rigorous grouping structure on the results from individual clinics minimized differences between clinics and demonstrated consistently high, statistically significant results in favor of fluocinodine gel even when several different statistical approaches were used. Local adverse reactions related to drugs were experienced by few patients.