Using high quality clinical databases to complement the results of randomised controlled trials: the case of recombinant human activated protein C
BMJPublished 20 October 2001Open access
A. Padkin, Kathy Rowan, Nicholas Black
Citations64
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ObjectiveStudy objective
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TL;DR
A case study is used to describe the practical difficulties that exist for policymakers and clinicians in interpreting the results of a randomised controlled trial evaluating recombinant human activated protein C, a new drug for treating severe sepsis in intensive care patients, and how an existing, high quality, clinical database could provide information on the generalisability of the trial results.
Keywords
Decision SciencesMedicine
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