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Trial Design: Pain Sections
Author Bio
Introduction
Placebo Effects
Single Dose Trials
Repeated Dose Trials
Explanatory Versus Pragmatic
Dose-Response
Currently selected section: Parallel Group Versus Crossover
Conclusion
 

 

Chapter 1: Clinical Trials of Pain Treatment: Parallel Group Versus Crossover Designs

 
           

Would the use of a crossover design be likely to offer advantages over a parallel group design in comparing postoperative pain to placebo?

You answered:

No.

Yes or No May Be Correct

Postoperative pain is a rapidly evolving condition. In oral surgery and other minor procedures, pain rapidly decreases after the first 6 hours and treatment comparisons after the first dose have yielded little (Stewart, 1991). James et al. (1985) showed that crossover designs may be feasible after major thoracic and abdominal procedures that cause several days of severe pain, but almost all recent postoperative pain studies have used parallel group design.

 

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