Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • News & Views
  • Published:

Stroke

Are care and outcomes better for participants of stroke trials?

A recent observational study showed that patients with stroke who participated in clinical research received better care and had lower mortality than patients who did not participate. However, the study has several limitations, and the available evidence suggests that patients should not be advised that participation in research improves outcomes.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

References

  1. Cadilhac, D. Improved in-hospital outcomes and care for patients in stroke research. An observational study. Neurology 87, 206–213 (2016).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Appelbaum, P. S. et al. False hopes and best data: consent to research and the therapeutic misconception. Hastings Cent. Rep. 17, 20–24 (1987).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. McCambridge, J., Witton, J. & Elbourne, D. R. Systematic review of the Hawthorne effect: new concepts are needed to study research participation effects. J. Clin. Epidemiol. 67, 267–277 (2014).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Ginsberg, M. D. et al. High-dose albumin treatment for acute ischaemic stroke (ALIAS) part 2: a randomised, double-blind, phase 3, placebo-controlled trial. Lancet Neurol. 12, 1049–1058 (2013).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Mohr, J. P. et al. Medical management with or without interventional therapy for unruptured brain arteriovenous malformations (ARUBA): a multicentre, non-blinded, randomised trial. Lancet 383, 614–621 (2014).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Back, L., Nagaraja, V., Kapur, A. & Eslick, G. D. Role of decompressive hemicraniectomy in extensive middle cerebral artery strokes: a meta-analysis of randomised trials. Intern. Med. J. 45, 711–717 (2015).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Vist, G. E., Bryant, D., Somerville, L., Birminghem, T. & Oxman, A. D. Outcomes of patients who participate in randomized controlled trials compared to similar patients receiving similar interventions who do not participate. Cochrane Database Syst. Rev. 3, MR000009 (2008).

    Google Scholar 

  8. Fernandes, N. et al. Outcomes for patients with the same disease treated inside and outside of randomized trials: a systematic review and meta-analysis. CMAJ 186, E596–E609 (2014).

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mary Joan Macleod.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing financial interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Macleod, M., Counsell, C. Are care and outcomes better for participants of stroke trials?. Nat Rev Neurol 12, 498–499 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrneurol.2016.123

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrneurol.2016.123

This article is cited by

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing