Abstract
Sometimes, a distinction is made between the art and science of medicine, but these two concepts are closely related. The clinician must act as rationally as possible. A scientific approach to clinical medicine only helps to disclose the importance of the human factor. Medical ethics also belong to the art of medicine. Since the clinician must always aim at doing what is best for the patient and for the community he serves, all clinical decisions have an ethical component [1]. The science of trials has added another dimension to academic research: the ultimate evidence that in clinical medicine, blindness is more helpful than observational skills. A double blind randomized placebo controlled approach has proven to be the only method, able to overcome honorable intellectual biases. It can not be denied that trials are attractive for three more reasons: (1) commercial interests; (2) in large hospitals, it is convenient to enter the patient in a therapeutic trial, as the trial takes over all therapeutic responsibility; (3) better patient follow-up.
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© 1996 Kluwer Academic Publishers
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Ector, H. (1996). Endpoints and trials: a matter of life and death. Classification of death in patients under antiarrhythmic treatment. In: Oto, M.A. (eds) Practice and Progress in Cardiac Pacing and Electrophysiology. Developments in Cardiovascular Medicine, vol 183. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-0219-0_1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-0219-0_1
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