PLACEBO, NOCEBO, AND BIAS CONTROL IN TRIALS

PUBLISHED PAPERS

1. Sweeney OJ, Parepalli SA, Mirtorabi N, Loo Yong Kee K, Feakins BG, Aronson JK, Wartolowska KA. Placebo's invisible brother: a restricted scoping review of the biomedical literature on the nocebo effect. PAIN 2022. Epub ahead of print.
   Scoping review
   
   
2. Bernstein M, Rosenfield M, Fuchs N, Magill M, Blease C, Beaudoin F, Rich J, Wartolowska K, Terek R. How orthopedic surgeons view open label placebo pills – a pilot study: ethical and effective, but opposed to personal use. Journal of Psychosomatic Research 2021;151:110638.
   Original research — Survey
   
   
3. Kjær SW, Rice ASC, Wartolowska K, Vase L. Neuromodulation: more than a placebo effect? Pain 2020;161(3):491-495
   Topical reveiew
   
   
4. Vase L, Wartolowska K. Pain, placebo, and test of treatment efficacy: a narrative review. British Journal of Anaesthesia 2019;123:e254–e262
   Narrative review
   
   
5. Wartolowska K. The nocebo effect as a source of bias in the assessment of treatment effects. F1000Research Latest published: 11 Mar 2019, 8:5
   Narrative review — Open access
   
   
6. Wartolowska K, Beard D, Carr A. Blinding in trials of interventional procedures is possible and worthwhile. F1000Research 2017;6:1663 [revised Jan 2018]
   Narrative review — Open access
   
   
7. Wartolowska K, Gerry S, Feakins BG, Collins GS, Cook J, Judge A, Carr AJ. A meta-analysis of temporal changes of response in the placebo arm of surgical randomized controlled trials: an update. Trials 2017;18:323
   Systematic review — Meta-regression
   
   
8. Wartolowska K, Beard DJ, Carr AJ. The use of placebos in controlled trials of surgical interventions: a brief history. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine 2018;111:177-182

   Narrative review — History of placebo in surgery

   
   
9. Wartolowska KA , Feakins BG, Collins GS, Cook J, Judge A, Rombach I, Dean BJF, Smith JA, Carr AJ. The magnitude and temporal changes of response in the placebo arm of surgical randomized controlled trials: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Trials 2016;17:589
   Systematic review — Meta-analysis
   
   
10. Savulescu J, Wartolowska K (joint first author), Carr AJ. Randomised placebo-controlled trials of surgery: ethical analysis and guidelines. Journal of Medical Ethics 2016; 42:776-783
    Opinion
    
    
11. Wartolowska K , Collins GS, Hopewell S, Judge A, Dean BJ, Rombach I, Beard DJ, Carr AJ. Feasibility of surgical randomised controlled trials with a placebo arm: a systematic review. BMJ Open 2016;6:e010194
    Systematic review — Meta-analysis
    
    
12. George AJT, Collett C, Carr AJ, Holm S, Bale C, Burton S, Campbell M, Coles A, Gottlieb G, Muir K, Parroy S, Price J, Rice ASC, Sinden J, Stephenson C, Wartolowska K , Whittall H. When should placebo surgery as a control in clinical trials be carried out? Bulletin of The Royal College of Surgeons of England 2016;98:75-79
    Opinion
    
    
13. Baldwin MJ, Wartolowska K (joint first author), Carr AJ. A survey on beliefs and attitudes of trainee surgeons towards placebo. BMC Surgery 2016;16:27
    Survey
    
    
14. Wartolowska K Beard DJ, Carr AJ. Attitudes and beliefs about placebo surgery among orthopaedic shoulder surgeons in the United Kingdom. PLoS ONE 2014; 9:e91699.
    Survey
    
    
15. Wartolowska K , Judge A, Hopewell S, Collins GS, Dean BJ, Rombach I, Brindley D, Savulescu J, Beard DJ, Carr AJ. Use of placebo controls in the evaluation of surgery: systematic review. BMJ 2014;348:g3253.
Systematic review — Meta-analysis

INVITED TALKS AND LECTURES

1. "Ethical and Practical Considerations for and Against Placebo Control in the Assessment of the Effectiveness of Physical and Surgical Analgesic Interventions - topical workshop with Prof Luana Colloca and Prof Lene Vase. 17th IASP World Congress on Pain. Boston, USA (2018)
2. "Fake surgeries and dummy pills - control for bias and study design in trials on treatment efficacy in chronic pain" - an invited lecture. 'Introduction to Study Design and Research Methods' teaching module, Oxford, UK (2018). Podcast available here
3. "A placebo control group in surgical randomised controlled trials - when is it useful, ethical and necessary?" - an invited lecture The Wounds Research Network (WReN) 2018 Scientific Meeting, Newcastle, UK (2018)
4. ”Can and should placebo control be used in randomised controlled trials of surgical, physical and neuromodulation interventions?” – a workshop 6th International Congress on Neuropathic Pain (NeuPSIG), Gothenburg, Sweden (2017)
5. "Placebo controls in surgery" – a lecture at the BAPRAS Winter Scientific Meeting London, UK (2016)
6. "Ethical issues of sham surgery for orthopaedic surgery" Bioethics/HRA workshop on the use of sham surgery Nuffield Council on Bioethics, Bedford Place, London (2015)

ORGANISED WORKSHOPS

1. We need to talk about nocebo - one of three talks at a workshop "Is Nocebo Placebo's Evil Twin?" (Chair: K Wartolowska; organisers: K Wartolowska, L Colloca, M Amanzio). IASP Virutal Series on Pain & Expo. (virtual due to COVID) .
2. Placebo-controlled non-pharmacological trials on pain conditions (Chair: K Wartolowska; organisers: K Wartolowska, L Vase, I Harris, N O'Connell, S Eldabe), International Association for the Study of Pain conference virtual due to COVID).

CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS

1. Parepalli S, Sweeney O, Mirtorabi N, Loo Yong Kee K, Feakins BG, Aronson JK, Wartolowska K. Placebo’s invisible brother – a restricted scoping review of biomedical literature on the nocebo effect (a poster). World Congress on Pain. Virtual due to COVID).
2. Wartolowska K, Gerry S, Feakins BG, Collins GS, Cook J, Judge A, Carr AJ Temporal characteristics of effect size in the placebo arm of surgical randomised controlled trials: a meta- analysis. – at talk Evidence Live Oxford, UK (2017)
3. Wartolowska K, Judge A, Dean B Rombach I, Savulescu J, Beard D, Carr A The use of placebo in randomised surgical clinical trials (a poster) The 2nd Clinical Trials Methodology Conference: Methodology Matters Edinburgh, UK (2013) ABSTRACT
4. Wartolowska K, Judge A, Dean B, Rombach I, Savulescu J, Beard D, Carr A Benefits and harms of placebo in surgical randomised clinical trials: a systematic review (a poster) The 2nd Clinical Trials Methodology Conference: Methodology Matters, Edinburgh, UK (2013) ABSTRACT

BLOGS

1. Electrical shavers and splashed saline – how blinding has been achieved in surgical placebo-controlled trials.
2. Randomised Placebo-Controlled Trials of Surgery: Ethical Analysis and Guidelines.
3. Use of placebo in surgical trials.

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