The importance of real-life research in respiratory medicine: manifesto of the Respiratory Effectiveness Group
Open Access
- 19 September 2019
- journal article
- editorial
- Published by European Respiratory Society (ERS) in European Respiratory Journal
- Vol. 54 (3), 1901511
- https://doi.org/10.1183/13993003.01511-2019
Abstract
Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) are universally considered as the gold standard for evaluating the efficacy of treatments. Their main strength is that, through randomisation, they avoid any major imbalance between compared groups: therefore, observed outcome differences between groups at the end of the trial are most likely related to treatment effects. Since they are inherently prospective by design, they also permit stability throughout the study to ensure that all conditions remain optimal to test the hypothesis of interest. These include high-quality follow-up, reinforced adherence, etc. Consequently, these studies can reach the highest level of internal validity, provided that all quality standards are followed, such as those defined by CONSORT guidelines [1].This publication has 29 references indexed in Scilit:
- What Proportion of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Outpatients Is Eligible for Inclusion in Randomized Clinical Trials?Respiration, 2013
- UNLOCK: Uncovering and Noting Long-term Outcomes in COPD to enhance KnowledgePrimary Care Respiratory Journal, 2010
- Good Research Practices for Comparative Effectiveness Research: Approaches to Mitigate Bias and Confounding in the Design of Nonrandomized Studies of Treatment Effects Using Secondary Data Sources: The International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research Good Research Practices for Retrospective Database Analysis Task Force Report—Part IIValue in Health, 2009
- Improving the reporting of pragmatic trials: an extension of the CONSORT statementBMJ, 2008
- External validity of randomized controlled trials in COPDRespiratory Medicine, 2007
- External validity of randomised controlled trials in asthma: to whom do the results of the trials apply?Thorax, 2007
- Influence of body mass index on the response to asthma controller agentsEuropean Respiratory Journal, 2006
- How representative are clinical study patients with asthma or COPD for a larger “real life” population of patients with obstructive lung disease?Respiratory Medicine, 2005
- Influence of cigarette smoking on inhaled corticosteroid treatment in mild asthmaThorax, 2002