Why We should Assess Patients' Expectations in Clinical Trials

Elisa Frisaldi, Aziz Shaibani, Fabrizio Benedetti, Elisa Frisaldi, Aziz Shaibani, Fabrizio Benedetti

Abstract

Most of the analgesic clinical trials have failed to succeed over the past years because of the occurrence of large placebo responses. Patients' expectations about the therapeutic benefit represent a major determinant of the placebo response. Therefore, assessing patients' expectations should become the rule in any clinical trial. This would allow us to better interpret therapeutic outcomes when comparing placebo and verum groups.

Keywords: Clinical trial; Expectation; Placebo effect.

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Source: PubMed

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