英语科普小知识 97%的英国医生对病人使用过安慰剂.docVIP

A survey of UK doctors found that 97% have prescribed placebo treatments to patients at least once in their career. Researchers at the Universities of Oxford and Southampton in the UK discovered that 97% of doctors have used impure placebo treatments, while 12% have used pure placebos. ? Impure placebos are treatments that are unproven, such as antibiotics for suspected viral infections, or more commonly non-essential physical examinations and blood tests performed to reassure patients. Pure placebos are treatments such as sugar pills or?saline（盐水）injections which contain no active ingredients. ? A random sample of doctors was surveyed online, and returned 783 responses. This sample was found to be representative of all UK doctors registered with the General Medical Council (GMC). The research was funded by the National Institute for Health Research, the University of Oxford Department of Primary Health Care Sciences and The Southampton Complementary Medical Research Trust. The results are published in the open-access journal PLOS ONE. ? This is not about doctors deceiving patients, says Dr Jeremy Howick, co-lead author of the study from the University of Oxford, The study shows that placebo use is widespread in the UK, and doctors clearly believe that placebos can help patients. ? The survey showed that doctors prescribing both pure and impure placebos reported doing so for broadly similar reasons. Placebos were mainly given to either induce psychological treatment effects, because patients requested treatment or to reassure patients. ? Ethical attitudes towards placebo usage varied among doctors, with 66% saying that pure placebos are ethically acceptable under certain circumstances and 33% saying they are never acceptable. Impure placebos were more widely accepted, with 84% of doctors deeming them acceptable. ? This widespread use and acceptance of placebos is consistent with similar studies worldwide, yet they are still against General Medical Council ethical