title: Allocation of patients to treatment groups in a controlled clinical study.
abstract: In a controlled clinical study ("clinical trial") to compare 2 or more treatments for a disease, an objective method of allocating patients to treatment groups is needed. Various existing methods of allocation are described, including those which take account of patients' pre-treatment characteristics.
mesh_terms: D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D006801:Humans; D010361:Patients; D011379:Prognosis; D011897:Random Allocation; D012107:Research Design