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The concealment of group assignment (to either the treatment or control group) from the knowledge of patients and/or investigators in a clinical trial. Blinding eliminates the possibility that knowledge of assignment may affect patient response to treatment or investigator behaviors that may affect outcomes. A single-blind trial is one in which knowledge of group assignment is withheld only from patients; a double-blind trial is one in which the knowledge is withheld from both patients and investigators.
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