Abstract
The authors used the N-of-1 clinical trial methodology to obtain insights about a patient’s preference for garlic for the management of his hypertension. The 61-year-old man received garlic, 500 mg by mouth three times a day (3 weeks), or identical placebo (3 weeks) in three treatment pairs. While the patient was taking garlic the mean systolic blood pressure decreased by 2 mm Hg (95% confidence interval 0.4 to 4.7, p<0.05), and the diastolic blood pressure decreased by 2.4 mm Hg (95% confidence interval 0.4 to 4, p<0.025). The treatment effect of garlic was small, but the patient believed continuing garlic for the management of his hypertension was justified.
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Received from the Department of Internal Medicine, Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit, Michigan.
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Estrada, C.A., Young, M.J. Patient preferences for novel therapy. J Gen Intern Med 8, 619–621 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02599719
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02599719