If researchers want to investigate new therapies, they must first precisely define the goals of their analysis. But the goal is often adjusted during the course of the examination – even at German university hospitals.
A diver who doesn’t dive doesn’t dive: The wisdom of the unforgettable comic hero Werner (“Or what?”) can be transferred to many situations in life. Even the supreme discipline of medicine – clinical studies. These are the ultimate when it comes to finding out whether new therapies are really of any use to sick people. But of course they can only do that if they themselves are good at something, i.e. if they follow all the rules of scientific art. This is all too often not the case, as a new analysis shows. Accordingly, clinical studies are often subject to significant changes even after they have started, even at German university hospitals – which can lead to distortions in their statements.