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A fun quiz from the Health Services Research Unit (University of Aberdeen) to celebrate International Clinical Trials Day 2020!

International Clinical Trials Day Quiz

International Clinical Trials Day celebrates the anniversary the first ever clinical trial, in 1747, by Scottish naval doctor James Lind. At the <a href="https://www.abdn.ac.uk/hsru/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Health Services Research Unit</a>, we have celebrated International Clinical Trials day in <a href="https://www.abdn.ac.uk/hsru/what-we-do/ppie/index.php#panel860" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">many ways over the years</a>. This year we decided to come up with a fun quiz! Test your knowledge and find out more about clinical trials and James Lind’s amazing contribution to them.... We hope you enjoy it!

James Lind was a Scottish doctor from the 18th century, born in Edinburgh. He is known as the pioneer of clinical trials. He worked for the Royal Navy and is believed to have led the first ever clinical trial. His goal was to help sailors recover from an unknown illness that caused gum problems.

Option 1

Who was James Lind? Can you recognise him?

Scurvy is a diseased caused by lack of vitamin C. It leads to gum and teeth problems, as well as shortness of breath and bone pain. Sailors would spend long periods of time away at sea and did not have a chance to eat a balanced diet so often died from scurvy.   
You can watch our re-enactment with schoolchildren of Dr James Lind’s first clinical trial [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=-vbeoGAUuEo).

Scurvy

In the first clinical trial, which illness was James Lind researching treatments for?

In the 19th century British sailors who sailed to America were required to drink lemon or lime juice to help keep the scurvy away. This led rise to the nickname ‘Limey’ for a British person.   
The full list of treatments which were trialled by James Lind were cider, elixir of vitriol, vinegar, seawater, oranges and lemon, and a spicy paste plus a drink of barley water.   
You can find out more about James Lind and clinical trials, by visiting here:
[BBC story on James Lind (2016)](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-37320399) [James Lind Library page (2012)](https://www.jameslindlibrary.org/articles/who-was-james-lind-and-what-exactly-did-he-achieve/)  
The James Lind alliance is a non-profit making initiative. It brings patients, carers and clinicians together to identify and prioritise the [Top 10 priorities for research](http://www.jla.nihr.ac.uk/top-10-priorities/) or evidence uncertainties that they agree are the most important.

Limes

James Lind trialled several treatments for scurvy by giving sailors different treatments. We found citrus fruits fared better than other treatments. Which citrus fruit does the American slang for a British person come from?

Clinical trials do not have to use randomisation to allocate treatments, but they often do. Randomisation makes sure that the groups of patients being compared are similar. Any differences observed between the groups are then likely to be due to the different treatment options being tested rather than anything else. In other words, randomisation ensures a fair comparison between treatments.   
This [short video by Cancer Research UK](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkOCYov1p-o) explains randomisation. Although they are talking about cancer trials the same principals apply to all randomised clinical trials

Participants are randomly assigned to a treatment group

In clinical trials we often use randomisation. What does randomisation mean?

1811 is the first time the word placebo was recorded as being used as a clinical term.  
Even though it is common for clinical trials to have a placebo arm, that is not always the case. Many clinical trials compare one treatment against another treatment. Surgical or dental trials may not have a placebo equivalent and, therefore, often new treatments are compared with old treatments or treatment as usual.
Placebo is one of many terms used in clinical trials.  

The [HSRU glossary](https://www.abdn.ac.uk/hsru/what-we-do/qa/glossary-141.php) and [GET-IT glossary](https://getitglossary.org/) provide definitions for a number of clinical and health research terms.

1811

A placebo is a medicine or procedure which is designed to have no therapeutic value. When was the word placebo first recorded as a clinical term?

To reduce the chances of biasing the results, some clinical trials make sure that neither the patients nor the doctors know which of the treatments in the trial has been allocated to the patient. If this is a possible set-up, we call it a ‘double-blind’ trial.

Neither patients nor doctors

In a “double-blind” trial, who is allowed to know which treatment the patient has been given?

Clinical trials can be registered on an open access website so that everyone can see what is planned and what is published. [ClinicalTrials.gov](https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/home) is a database of privately and publicly funded clinical studies conducted around the world.   
The UK website [bepartofresearch.nihr.ac.uk/](https://bepartofresearch.nihr.ac.uk/) allows you to search by location and by condition to find a clinical trial and has further information in plain language about taking part in clinical trials.

You can find a list of all registered clinical trials on the internet

Which of the following statements about clinical trials is true?

We calculate the number of people needed to take part in a trial (called the sample size) before we start, so we can know at the end if there is a (clinically significant) difference between treatments. If there aren’t enough patients in the trial, we won't be able to tell if the treatments are different. Each trial will need a different number of patients depending on what is important to patients and clinicians, and what difference is important to change future healthcare. Clinicians, patients and researchers can all be involved in this process. We are [working with patient and public partners](https://www.abdn.ac.uk/hsru/what-we-do/research/projects/point-827.php) to help make this an easier process to understand!   
You can go to our [website](https://www.abdn.ac.uk/hsru/what-we-do/tools/index.php#panel177) to find out more about sample sizes and even calculate some yourself!

Calculate how many people you need in the trial before you start

When researchers decide how many people should take part in a clinical trial which of the following is true?

2018 to 2019 saw a record-breaking 870,250 participants taking part in studies across England – this is the highest since records began and an increase of 140,000 on the previous year. This number of participants is the equivalent of 2,383 per day! If you are interested in finding out more about taking part in a trial, you can find out more [here](https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/clinical-trials/)

900,000

Approximately how many people took part in clinical trials in England last year?

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International Clinical Trials Day Quiz

Welcome to our quiz for International Clinical Trials Day 2020.

International Clinical Trials Day Quiz

Welcome to our quiz for International Clinical Trials Day 2020.

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