title: Parachute use to prevent death and major trauma related to gravitational challenge: systematic review of randomised controlled trials.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine whether parachutes are effective in preventing major trauma related to gravitational challenge.
  
  
  METHODS
  Systematic review of randomised controlled trials.
  
  
  METHODS
  Medline, Web of Science, Embase, and the Cochrane Library databases; appropriate internet sites and citation lists.
  
  
  METHODS
  Studies showing the effects of using a parachute during free fall.
  
  
  METHODS
  Death or major trauma, defined as an injury severity score > 15.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We were unable to identify any randomised controlled trials of parachute intervention.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  As with many interventions intended to prevent ill health, the effectiveness of parachutes has not been subjected to rigorous evaluation by using randomised controlled trials. Advocates of evidence based medicine have criticised the adoption of interventions evaluated by using only observational data. We think that everyone might benefit if the most radical protagonists of evidence based medicine organised and participated in a double blind, randomised, placebo controlled, crossover trial of the parachute.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Cambridge University, Cambridge CB2 2QQ. gcss2@cam.ac.uk
authors.forename: Gordon C S
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Jill P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Pell
mesh_terms: D000060:Accidents, Aviation / Q000517:prevention & control*; D003645:Death, Sudden / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006801:Humans; D016017:Odds Ratio; D011482:Protective Devices; D017594:Publication Bias; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D014925:Wit and Humor as Topic; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000517:prevention & control*