An open-label trial or open trial is a type of clinical trial in which both the researchers and participants know which treatment is being administered. This contrasts with single blind and double blind experimental designs, where participants are not aware of what treatment they are receiving (researchers are also unaware in a double blind trial).
Open-label trials may be appropriate for comparing two very similar treatments to determine which is most effective. An open-label trial may be unavoidable under some circumstances, such as comparing the effectiveness of a medication to intensive physical therapy sessions.
An open-label trial may still be randomized. Open-label trials may also be uncontrolled, with all participants receiving the same treatment.
Famous quotes containing the word trial:
“You may talk about Free Love, if you please, but we are to have the right to vote. To-day we are fined, imprisoned, and hanged, without a jury trial by our peers. You shall not cheat us by getting us off to talk about something else. When we get the suffrage, then you may taunt us with anything you please, and we will then talk about it as long as you please.”
—Lucy Stone (1818–1893)