Clinical trials are important in improving the safety and effectiveness of emergency care. Many such trials seek to assess the effects of time-critical treatments for life-threatening disorders such as traumatic brain injury, severe haemorrhage, or respiratory distress. In general, before patients can be enrolled in such trials, current regulations require that they or their legal representatives provide written informed consent." Although the requirement for written informed consent can sometimes be waived-eg, if the patient is unconscious, treatment is urgent, and no relative is available-written consent is usually required in emergency-care research, despite the delays to treatment that this will usually entail.
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