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Which study type is that? A guide to study types

Study and experiment types for Health Sciences and Medicine

Cross-over study


In a crossover study, each participant receives more than one treatment at different times. Participants are first given one treatment and then after a washout period they change to the other treatment. This study design sees every person acting as their own comparison, which in turn helps the researchers better understand the effects of each treatment.

 

cross-over study

 

Other types of cross-over studies

N-of-1 trials

An N-of-1 trial is a type of clinical trial conducted with a single patient. It involves multiple crossover comparisons where the patient receives both the experimental treatment and a control in a random order.

Latin square design

Latin square design is a way to organise a study so that each treatment is given to each patient once, and the order of treatments is balanced. This helps to control for differences between patients and the timing of treatments, making it easier to see the true effects of the treatments

Further reading and resources

  • Crossover Experiments - JoVE (1 video file (1 min., 16 sec.)) Catalogue Link
     
  • Heesen, P. (2020). Crossover trials: what are they are what are their advantages and limitations? Link
     
  • Lim, C. Y., & In, J. (2021). Considerations for crossover design in clinical study. Korean journal of anesthesiology, 74(4), 293-299. Full Text
     
  • Ratkowsky, D., Alldredge, R., & Evans, M.A. (1992). Cross-Over Experiments: Design, Analysis and Application (1st ed.). CRC Press. Catalogue Link

Example

Rosén, J., Frykholm, P., Jonsson Fagerlund, M., Pellegrini, M., Campoccia Jalde, F., von Oelreich, E., & Fors, D. (2024). Lung impedance changes during awake prone positioning in COVID-19. A non-randomized cross-over study. Plos one, 19(2), e0299199. Full Text

 

 


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