Beyond the P-value and the sound bite: learning from ‘negative’ clinical trials

This editorial refers to ‘Standard vs. intensified management of heart failure to reduce healthcare costs: results of a multicentre, randomized controlled trial’, by P. Schuffman et al., doi: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehx259.

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Happy is the one who finds wisdom, the one who gains understanding;

For its value is greater than silver, it yield than fine gold.

It is more precious than rubies, no treasure can match it.’

        Proverbs 3:13

Physicians have the privilege and responsibility to use and incorporate the best available data in their shared decision-making with their patients. Fortunately, in well-studied conditions such as heart failure, multiple therapeutic interventions have been rigorously tested in randomized controlled clinical trials demonstrating meaningful improvements in clinical outcomes. These trials also generate much needed information regarding the safety profile of these therapies....