> The trial was so successful that it was halted early — given the findings, it was no longer ethical to keep adding patients to the control group. While 29 percent of patients in the control group (who were treated, when eligible, with alteplase, a type of tPA, alone) survived with at least a partial recovery of their deficits and were able to reclaim their independence, 53 percent of patients who received EVT saw the same positive outcomes. And while 19 percent of the control patients died, just 10.4 percent of the EVT patients did. Given that medical progress is often seen in decimal-point increments, these were staggering numbers.
Man. It's strange to think that if you were selected for this, there's a good chance you'd be in the control group, potentially taking nothing and still hoping it prevents you from dying, only to end up dying anyway.
I mean, the reassuring part is that if the treatment is proven to be better than the standard of care, you'll receive it. Before then, for all you know, it could be worse.
> The trial was so successful that it was halted early — given the findings, it was no longer ethical to keep adding patients to the control group. While 29 percent of patients in the control group (who were treated, when eligible, with alteplase, a type of tPA, alone) survived with at least a partial recovery of their deficits and were able to reclaim their independence, 53 percent of patients who received EVT saw the same positive outcomes. And while 19 percent of the control patients died, just 10.4 percent of the EVT patients did. Given that medical progress is often seen in decimal-point increments, these were staggering numbers.