The journal of pain : official journal of the American Pain Society
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Review Meta Analysis
The blind leading the not so blind: a meta-analysis of blinding in pharmacological trials for chronic pain.
Patient blinding is a critical feature of double-blind placebo-controlled randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Yet, very little is known about practices for assessing and reporting blinding in chronic pain trials. We examined the rates and predictors of assessing blinding and its success in pharmacological RCTs for chronic pain. ⋯ The results indicated that blinding is rarely assessed and often fails. Some study characteristics were associated with lower rates of assessing blinding and its success, for example, pharmaceutical sponsorship and side effects. Implications and recommendations for chronic pain RCTs are discussed.
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Review Meta Analysis
The blind leading the not so blind: a meta-analysis of blinding in pharmacological trials for chronic pain.
Patient blinding is a critical feature of double-blind placebo-controlled randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Yet, very little is known about practices for assessing and reporting blinding in chronic pain trials. We examined the rates and predictors of assessing blinding and its success in pharmacological RCTs for chronic pain. ⋯ The results indicated that blinding is rarely assessed and often fails. Some study characteristics were associated with lower rates of assessing blinding and its success, for example, pharmaceutical sponsorship and side effects. Implications and recommendations for chronic pain RCTs are discussed.