First Validation of a Placebo Compression Stocking

Abstract

Objective: To validate a placebo compression stocking. Design: Subjects were asked to identify as the same or different, placebo (P) and medical compression stockings (MCS) presented in a controlled randomised masked manner. Setting: A university hospital in Paris, France, and Innothera Laboratory. Patients, participants: One hundred and twenty-seven volunteers. Main outcome measures: Recognition of P versus MCS. Results: The false response rates in the visual test were 46.6% for physicians and 47.6% for non-physicians; in the touch test, 19.7% and 34.5% respectively, and in the wearing test, performed by non-physicians, 25.4%. Conclusions: P was valid in the visual part of the study but not in its touching or wearing parts. However, the large number of false responses in the non-physician group indicates that the use of a placebo stocking would be a methodological improvement compared with the usual open studies.