Is methylphenidate a useful treatment for cancer-related fatigue in children?

摘要

While Archimedes does, not infrequently, get all concerned about invasive fungal infections, this post is not about the issue of p-D-glucan testing or problems of azole interactions. Instead, it's a swipe at the problem of how, given a transparent system of asking questions, acquiring information and appraising the evidence, we can come to such different conclusions. Why do we find it so tricky to break our clinical practice mould? Well, it may be just something deeply entrenched in our human psychological make-up. A fascinating read is provided by 'Biases in the interpretation and use of research results' by MacCoun1 which details studies that gave groups of politically partisan university students contradictory articles, flawed in identical ways, and found that the evidence was almost always interpreted to strengthen the students' initial positions. The interviews and comments reflected how, despite academic training, people preferred the methodology which supported their views.