28/05/2026
It was the ‘International Clinical Trials Day’ last week. Celebrated annually on May 20, this day commemorates the anniversary of James Lind’s 1747 scurvy study, widely recognised as the first randomised controlled clinical trial.
As Helen Pearson writes in this fascinating book - the term evidence based medicine is barely 35 years old. She demonstrates how adherence to good evidence is critical when it comes to the field of medicine.
As Michael Marshall writes in the New Scientist - it was the situation where women with the same condition had wildly different advice from two different doctors that led Iain Chalmers and Archie Cochrane to generate systematic reviews and meta-analyses and demonstrate the importance of good quality evidence for safety and efficacy of medical interventions.
In today’s era of widespread misinformation and advice based on cherry-picked evidence and personal experience - it is ever more important for healthcare professionals to standby the need for robust clinical evidence before any clinical interventions are recommended. Where there is paucity of evidence- it needs clear discussion. Research can take long and use up resources but where it needs to be done, it must be done properly!
https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg27035940-700-what-to-read-this-week-the-excellent-beyond-belief-by-helen-pearson/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23543706/
