title: An N of 1 service: applying the scientific method in clinical practice.
abstract: The N of 1 service at our institution acts as a full referral service for clinicians who want a definitive answer to a difficult management question, and an instructional environment for clinicians who have more time and want to learn to run their own N of 1 RCT. The trial design is a double blind, randomized pair, multiple crossover. A number of methodologic issues are discussed, such as appropriateness of the patients problem to N of 1 trials, feasibility, types of measurement, such as clinical objective measurement and quality of life measurement, as well as timing of these measurements. The analysis issues include developing a reporting method which is statistically powerful and understandable to clinicians with little research background. Some of these issues have been well investigated and some have not.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Epidemiology & Biostatistics, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario.
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Keller
authors.forename: G H
authors.initials: GH
authors.lastname: Guyatt
authors.forename: R S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Roberts
authors.forename: J D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Adachi
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Rosenbloom
mesh_terms: D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D006801:Humans; D008499:Medical Records; D011897:Random Allocation; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D012107:Research Design