title: Surgical evaluation at the crossroads.
abstract: Surgeons have lagged behind physicians and oncologists in embracing randomized controlled clinical trials. This paper suggests that a complete, accurate and objective comparison of the outcome of a novel intervention with that of a traditional intervention in previous years, or in another surgical group, can yield valuable information and can lead surgeons to improve their practice. There has recently been a decline in the number of randomized controlled trials published in The British Journal of Surgery; this may reflect the unwillingness of many patients to allow their surgical treatment to be decided by chance.
authors.affiliation: Scarborough Hospital, North Yorkshire, UK.
authors.forename: A V
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Pollock
mesh_terms: D003657:Decision Making; D004992:Ethics, Medical; D006801:Humans; D011643:Publishing / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards; D013514:Surgical Procedures, Operative; D013997:Time Factors