| IFMBE | International Federation for Medical and Biological Engineering |
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| IMBI | Institute of Medical and Biological Illustrators |
| NIBSC | National Institute for Biological Standards and Control |
| ICR | [distance between] iliac crests; Institute for Cancer Research; Institute for Cancer Research [mouse... |
| OHR | occupational health research; Office of Health Research |
| clinical trials, phase I | Studies performed to evaluate the safety of diagnostic, therapeutic, or prophylactic drugs, devices, or techniques in healthy subjects and to determine the safe dosage range (if appropriate). These tests also are used to determine pharmacologic and pharmacokinetic properties (toxicity, metabolism, absorption, elimination, and preferred route of administration). They involve a small number of persons and usually last about 1 year. This concept includes phase I studies conducted both in the u.s. And in other countries. (12 Dec 1998) |
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| clinical trials, phase II | Studies that are usually controlled to assess the effectiveness and dosage (if appropriate) of diagnostic, therapeutic, or prophylactic drugs, devices, or techniques. These studies are performed on several hundred volunteers, including a limited number of patients with the target disease or disorder, and last about two years. This concept includes phase II studies conducted in both the u.s. And in other countries. (12 Dec 1998) |
| clinical trials, phase III | Comparative studies to verify the effectiveness of diagnostic, therapeutic, or prophylactic drugs, devices, or techniques determined in phase II studies. During these trials, patients are monitored closely by physicians to identify any adverse reactions from long-term use. These studies are performed on groups of patients large enough to identify clinically significant responses and usually last about three years. This concept includes phase III studies conducted in both the u.s. And in other countries. (12 Dec 1998) |
| clinical trials, phase IV | Planned post-marketing studies of diagnostic, therapeutic, or prophylactic drugs, devices, or techniques that have been approved for general sale. These studies are often conducted to obtain additional data about the safety and efficacy of a product. This concept includes phase IV studies conducted in both the u.s. And in other countries. (12 Dec 1998) |
| controlled clinical trial | A clinical trial involving one or more test treatments, at least one control treatment, specified outcome measures for evaluating the studied intervention, and a bias-free method for assigning patients to the test treatment. The treatment may be drugs, devices, or procedures studied for diagnostic, therapeutic, or prophylactic effectiveness. Control measures include placebos, active medicine, no-treatment, dosage forms and regimens, historical comparisons, etc. When randomization using mathematical techniques, such as the use of a random numbers table, is employed to assign patients to test or control treatments, the trial is characterised as a randomised controlled trial. However, trials employing treatment allocation methods such as coin flips, odd-even numbers, patient social security numbers, days of the week, medical record numbers, or other such pseudo- or quasi-random processes are simply designated as controlled clinical trials. (12 Dec 1998) |
| controlled clinical trials | Clinical trials involving one or more test treatments, at least one control treatment, specified outcome measures for evaluating the studied intervention, and a bias-free method for assigning patients to the test treatment. The treatment may be drugs, devices, or procedures studied for diagnostic, therapeutic, or prophylactic effectiveness. Control measures include placebos, active medicines, no-treatment, dosage forms and regimens, historical comparisons, etc. When randomization using mathematical techniques, such as the use of a random numbers table, is employed to assign patients to test or control treatments, the trials are characterised as randomised controlled trials. However, trials employing treatment allocation methods such as coin flips, odd-even numbers, patient social security numbers, days of the week, medical record numbers, or other such pseudo- or quasi-random processes, are simply designated as controlled clinical trials. (12 Dec 1998) |
| cytogenetics, clinical | The application of cytogenetics to clinical medicine. For example, clinical cytogenetic studies might be done to determine whether a child with possible Down syndrome has an extra chromosome 21. (12 Dec 1998) |
| prospective, randomised, double-blind clinical trial | <statistics> A clinical trial in which the method for analysing data has been specified in the protocol before the study has begun (prospective), the patients have been randomly assigned to receive either the study drug or alternative treatment, and in which neither the patient nor the physician conducting the study know which treatment is being given to the patient. (13 Nov 1997) |
| psychology, clinical | The branch of psychology concerned with psychological methods of recognizing and treating behaviour disorders. (12 Dec 1998) |
| human clinical trial | <pharmacology> Controlled clinical studies in human volunteers to test the safety and efficacy of pharmaceutical candidates. There are usually three distinct phases of human clinical testing: Phases I, II, and III. Phase I trials are safety studies of volunteers, usually healthy controls. Phase II trials are studies to confirm safety and study optimum dose and initial efficacy. Phase III trials are studies to prove safety and efficacy in a specific patient population. (14 Nov 1997) |
| decision support systems, clinical | Computer-based information systems used to integrate clinical and patient information and provide support for decision-making in patient care. (12 Dec 1998) |
| disease, clinical | A disease with clinical signs and symptoms that can be recognised. As distinct from a subclinical illness without recognizable clinical manifestations. Diabetes, for example, can be subclinical in a person before emerging as a clinical disease. (12 Dec 1998) |
| in clinical parlance | The term often refers to the posterior funiculus of the spinal cord. (05 Mar 2000) |
| epidemiology, clinical | Epidemiology focused specifically upon patients. (12 Dec 1998) |
| abstracting and indexing | Shortening or summarizing of documents; assigning of descriptors for referencing documents. (12 Dec 1998) |