Which term describes a substance with no therapeutic value used for comparison in a clinical trial?

Which term describes a substance with no therapeutic value used for comparison in a clinical trial?

• A. Active control
• B. Adverse event
• C. Placebo
• D. Indication

Answer: (C)

Placebo is the term for a substance with no therapeutic value used as a comparator in clinical trials. It provides a baseline to judge the real effect of the experimental treatment and helps account for the placebo effect, where patients may improve simply because they expect to improve. In a blinded study, the placebo is often made to look identical to the active treatment to keep participants and investigators from knowing who receives which, preserving the validity of the results. Other terms don't fit: an active control is a known effective treatment used for comparison; an adverse event is any undesirable medical occurrence; an indication is the condition a drug is intended to treat.

Placebo is the term for a substance with no therapeutic value used as a comparator in clinical trials. It provides a baseline to judge the real effect of the experimental treatment and helps account for the placebo effect, where patients may improve simply because they expect to improve. In a blinded study, the placebo is often made to look identical to the active treatment to keep participants and investigators from knowing who receives which, preserving the validity of the results. Other terms don't fit: an active control is a known effective treatment used for comparison; an adverse event is any undesirable medical occurrence; an indication is the condition a drug is intended to treat.