Research Waste in Atopic Eczema Trials-Just the Tip of the Iceberg

Abstract

Clinical trials often continue to be undertaken even though the effectiveness of the intervention under consideration has already been demonstrated. In addition, vehicle- or placebo-controlled studies predominate over head-to-head comparisons, although the latter would be more informative for clinicians in guiding patient management. This creates research waste, and both investigators and funders are to blame. Wilkes et al. used a network analysis approach to show duplication of effort in trials assessing topical calcineurin inhibitors and corticosteroids as treatment options for atopic eczema. Unfortunately, this is just the tip of the research waste iceberg.