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An article in a medical journal reports an experiment to see if pulsed laser dye

ID: 3066320 • Letter: A

Question

An article in a medical journal reports an experiment to see if pulsed laser dye therapy is effective in treating acne. The article describes the experiment as a "randomized, controlled, single-blinded, split-face clinical trial of a volunteer sample of 40 patients aged 13 years or older with facial acne conducted at an academic referral center from August 2002 to September 2003." A split-face clinical trial is one in which one side of the face is treated and one side is not. What do you think "single-blinded" means here? The subjects did not know which side of their face was being treated, but those assessing the effectiveness of the treatment knew which side was treated. The subjects knew which side of their face was being treated, and those assessing the effectiveness of the treatment knew which side was treated. The subjects knew which side of their face was being treated, but those assessing the effectiveness of the treatment did not know which side was treated. The subjects did not know which side of their face was being treated, and those assessing the effectiveness of the treatment did not know which side was treated. Why isn't a double-blind experiment possible? Those assessing the effectiveness of the treatment had to watch the treatment be performed. The subjects could not watch the treatment be performed. The physical sensation of the laser could be felt by the subjects. The effects of the laser could be seen by those assessing the effectiveness of the treatment. Those assessing the effectiveness of the treatment had to know which side to consider. An article in a medical journal reports an experiment to see if pulsed laser dye therapy is effective in treating acne. The article describes the experiment as a "randomized, controlled, single-blinded, split-face clinical trial of a volunteer sample of 40 patients aged 13 years or older with facial acne conducted at an academic referral center from August 2002 to September 2003." A split-face clinical trial is one in which one side of the face is treated and one side is not. What do you think "single-blinded" means here? The subjects did not know which side of their face was being treated, but those assessing the effectiveness of the treatment knew which side was treated. The subjects knew which side of their face was being treated, and those assessing the effectiveness of the treatment knew which side was treated. The subjects knew which side of their face was being treated, but those assessing the effectiveness of the treatment did not know which side was treated. The subjects did not know which side of their face was being treated, and those assessing the effectiveness of the treatment did not know which side was treated. Why isn't a double-blind experiment possible? Those assessing the effectiveness of the treatment had to watch the treatment be performed. The subjects could not watch the treatment be performed. The physical sensation of the laser could be felt by the subjects. The effects of the laser could be seen by those assessing the effectiveness of the treatment. Those assessing the effectiveness of the treatment had to know which side to consider. An article in a medical journal reports an experiment to see if pulsed laser dye therapy is effective in treating acne. The article describes the experiment as a "randomized, controlled, single-blinded, split-face clinical trial of a volunteer sample of 40 patients aged 13 years or older with facial acne conducted at an academic referral center from August 2002 to September 2003." A split-face clinical trial is one in which one side of the face is treated and one side is not. What do you think "single-blinded" means here? The subjects did not know which side of their face was being treated, but those assessing the effectiveness of the treatment knew which side was treated. The subjects knew which side of their face was being treated, and those assessing the effectiveness of the treatment knew which side was treated. The subjects knew which side of their face was being treated, but those assessing the effectiveness of the treatment did not know which side was treated. The subjects did not know which side of their face was being treated, and those assessing the effectiveness of the treatment did not know which side was treated. Why isn't a double-blind experiment possible? Those assessing the effectiveness of the treatment had to watch the treatment be performed. The subjects could not watch the treatment be performed. The physical sensation of the laser could be felt by the subjects. The effects of the laser could be seen by those assessing the effectiveness of the treatment. Those assessing the effectiveness of the treatment had to know which side to consider.

Explanation / Answer

An article in a medical journal reports an experiment to see if pulsed laser dye therapy is effective in treating acne. The article describes the experiment as a "randomized, controlled, single-blinded, split-face clinical trial of a volunteer sample of 40 patients aged 13 years or older with facial acne conducted at an academic referral center from August 2002 to September 2003." A split-face clinical trial is one in which one side of the face is treated and one side is not. What do you think "single-blinded" means here?

Single-blind describes experiments where information that could introduce bias or otherwise skew the result is withheld from the participants, but the experimenter will be in full possession of the facts.

Single-blind experimental design is used where the experimenters either must know the full facts (for example, when comparing sham to real surgery) and so the experimenters cannot themselves be blind, or where the experimenters will not introduce further bias and so the experimenters need not be blind. However, there is a risk that subjects are influenced by interaction with the researchers – known as the experimenter's bias.

The subjects did not know which side of their face was being treated, but those assessing the effectiveness of the treatment knew which side was treated.

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Why isn't a double-blind experiment possible?

A double-blind study is one in which neither the participants nor the experimenters know who is receiving a particular treatment.

The effects of the laser could be seen by those assessing the effectiveness of the treatment.

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