title: Clinical trials: where do we go from here?
abstract: Randomized clinical trials are necessary to detect a possible treatment effect of interventions for which no clear-cut answer is known. In ophthalmology, clinical trials have shown the benefit of laser therapy in several eye diseases. As smaller treatment effects are sought, sample sizes must be increased considerably to maintain statistical power. This can be done only through multicentre randomized clinical trials. Provided the question being asked is of value to society, the cost of a clinical trial is an excellent investment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Queen's University, Kingston, Ont.
authors.forename: A F
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Cruess
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ballantyne
mesh_terms: D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D006801:Humans; D009885:Ophthalmology / Q000191:economics; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends