Randomised control trial

Subject: Science and tech

Context:

PatanjaliAyurved claimed ‘Coronil’ and ‘Swasari’ would cure COVID-19 in only seven days and claimed that a randomised controlled trial (RCT) among COVID-19 positive patients had proved favourable results.

Concept:

• A randomised controlled trial is an experiment that is designed to isolate the influence that a certain intervention or variable has on an outcome or event.
• In medical field, it is a study in which people are allocated at random, entirely by chance, to receive one of several clinical interventions.
• The intervention may be standard practice/treatment options, a placebo (a drug without an active substance, or a ‘sugar pill’), or no intervention at all.
• The idea is to measure and compare the outcomes against the control after the participants receive the treatment.