Peer-reviewed article
Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation and the Ethics of Clinical Research in Pediatrics
In this Sounding Board article, Lantos and Frader contend that it is\nunrealistic to insist that only randomized, controlled trials can definitively\nestablish the risks and benefits of new medical treatments. Using as an\nexample the…
In this Sounding Board article, Lantos and Frader contend that it is\nunrealistic to insist that only randomized, controlled trials can definitively\nestablish the risks and benefits of new medical treatments. Using as an\nexample the development of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) to treat\nnewborns with pulmonary failure, the authors discuss the problems\nphysician-investigators face in trying to evaluate innovative therapies in\ntrials with conventional therapies. They argue for a new framework for\nclinical research that acknowledges the inevitability of uncertainty about\nrisk and outcome, and the existence of conflicting, competing values in\nmedicine. (KIE abstract)
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About the author
John D. Lantos is a pediatrician and bioethicist writing on AI in medicine, neonatal intensive care, and end-of-life decisions. His essays appear in JAMA, JAMA Pediatrics, the Hastings Center Report, the New England Journal of Medicine, and Aeon. Read more about John.