Crossover study

Crossover study

• a type of controlled trial in which each subject acts as his own control, by receiving intervention "A" for one period of time and intervention "B" for another
• design is only appropriate for evaluating palliative treatments of chronic stable conditions
• bias can result based on the order in which interventions A and B are received and the time interval between receiving the interventions
  • therefore to reduce these effects:
    • there should be an adequate washout period between treatments;
    • the groups should be split into two so that one group receives intervention A first and the other group receives intervention B first

Reference:

1. MeReC Briefing (2005);30 (supplement):1-7.