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What is a factorial trial?

  • A. Cipriani (a1) and C. Barbui (a1)
Abstract

Randomized controlled trials (RCTs), typically, randomize participants to one of two intervention groups. It has been shown, however, that about 25% of RCTs published in the scientific literature randomize participants to three or more treatment groups. These studies are called ‘multi-arm’ trials: there may be, for instance, two or more experimental intervention groups with a common control group, or two control intervention groups such as a placebo group and a standard treatment group. A special case of multi-arm studies are factorial trials, which address two or more intervention comparisons carried out simultaneously, using four or more intervention groups.

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Corresponding author
*Address for correspondence: Dr A. Cipriani, Department of Medicine and Public Health, Section of Psychiatry – University of Verona, Piazzale L.A. Scuro, 10–37134 Verona, Italy. (Email: andrea.cipriani@univr.it)
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This Section of Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences regularly appears in each issue of the Journal to cover methodological aspects related to the design, conduct, reporting and interpretation of clinical and epidemiological studies. The aim of these Editorials is to help developing a more critical attitude towards research findings published in international literature, promoting original research projects with higher methodological standards, and implementing the most relevant results of research in every-day clinical practice.

Corrado Barbui, Section Editor and Michele Tansella, Editor EPS

Footnotes
References
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Chan, AW, Altman, DG (2005). Epidemiology and reporting of randomised trials published in PubMed journals. Lancet 365, 11591162.
Cipriani, A, Geddes, JR (2009). What is a randomised controlled trial? Epidemiologia e Psichiatria Sociale 18, 191194.
Higgins, JPT, Green, S (eds) (2011). Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions, Version 5.1.0 [updated March 2011]. Retrieved 17 April 2013 from http://handbook.cochrane.org/.
McAlister, FA, Straus, SE, Sackett, DL, Altman, DG (2003). Analysis and reporting of factorial trials: a systematic review. Journal of the American Medical Association 289, 25452553.
Montgomery, AA, Astin, MP, Peters, TJ (2011). Reporting of factorial trials of complex interventions in community settings: a systematic review. Trials 12, 179.
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Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences
  • ISSN: 2045-7960
  • EISSN: 2045-7979
  • URL: /core/journals/epidemiology-and-psychiatric-sciences
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