Is it just me?
This week's BMJ contains the first bout of correspondence following THAT
meta-analysis on the effect of Human Albumin Solution in care of the
critically ill in July. Much of what has now appeared in print was
discussed electronically at the time and the overall opinion is that there
has been a media circus based on an unsound analysis.
What really concerned me were the responses from the Cochrane Centre, both
the Director and the author. There is an almost arrogant assumption that
because they have said something it must be right. Yes, we all know that
the data supporting the use of albumin is not clear, but then the evidence
saying that it is dangerous is clearly very suspect.
Comments such as "If I survived, I would attempt to sue anyone who had
given me an infusion of albumin" from such a supposedly respected body are
neither professional nor constructive towards the debate.
I looked to the Cochrane Centre as a focus of reasoned critical analysis of
the state of play in medicine. I understood that this was the aim. Perhaps
if they picked up the teddy bear from the corner of their ivory tower and
listened to their clinical colleagues' concerns about their results they
would be more positively received.
DPW
(the Yorkshire one, not the Bath one)
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