Taber's Medical Dictionary
study
(stŭd′ē)
[L. studium, zeal, earnestness, study]
1. In clinical and surgical medicine, an examination or procedure.
2. In the medical sciences, an investigation or research project.
action study
In cancer research, a study to determine whether a particular lifestyle choice made by patients can be used to prevent cancer.
agent study
In cancer research, a study to determine whether a particular intervention or drug can be used to prevent cancer from developing.
SYN: SEE: agent prevention study
agent prevention study
SEE: Agent study.
case study
SEE: Case report.
Alzheimer Disease Cooperative Study
case-control study
In epidemiology and medical research, a study in which cases are selected on the basis of the dependent variable, i.e., the presence (study group) or absence (control group) of the condition or disease being investigated. Differences in the rates of the factor, trait, exposure, characteristic, or possible cause (independent variables) are then compared between the two groups. For example, a study might involve two groups of patients from the same population, one that has cancer (study group) and one that does not (control group). The smoking rates in these otherwise similar groups could then be compared to see if exposure to cigarettes differed between them. Case control studies are retrospective: they suggest associations between variables but do not prove that one causes the other.
cohort study
In epidemiology, a study of morbidity or mortality in a cohort, identified at a particular time and followed as the members of the cohort pass through part or all of their life span.
SYN: SEE: cohort analysis
conversion study
A study of two or more treatments that tries to gauge the effect of switching from one form of therapy to another.
dose-ranging study
A study of different selected drug dosages to determine if any is better tolerated or more effective than the others.
electrophysiology study
ABBR: EPS A study to determine the cause of life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias and the effect of treatments to prevent them. EPS is used typically after an episode of sudden death from ventricular tachycardia or ventricular fibrillation, or after symptomatic arrhythmias other than ventricular tachycardia or fibrillation, or in patients at high risk of death from these arrhythmias. Electrodes are placed within the heart and used to stimulate rhythm disturbances; the response of the heart can be studied after administration of antiarrhythmic drug therapy or under other controlled conditions.
first-in-man study
An initial study in humans of the safety of a new drug or a phase 1 trial of the agent.
Framingham Study
Framingham Heart Study
SEE: Framingham Study
gated blood pool study
genome-wide association study
A research study that compares all of the DNA of people affected by an illness with the DNA of matched healthy individuals. Its aim is to identify specific genetic variations that make some people more likely than others to become sick. These variations (mutations) are often minor, consisting of as little as a change in a single nucleotide in a DNA strand.
Lyons Heart Study
SEE: Lyons Heart Study
medical outcomes study
ABBR: MOS A study that compares medical care processes and outcomes as they are affected by the system of care, the clinician's specialty, the patients' diagnoses, and the severity of illness. MOS provides a model for monitoring the results of medical care.
SEE: medical audit; SEE: Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey
mixing study
A study to determine the cause of an elevated prothrombin time, thrombin time, or activated thromboplastin time. The patient's blood is mixed with normal blood. If the abnormal test result is corrected, the patient has a deficiency of a clotting factor. If it is not, an antibody or inhibitor to a clotting factor is present in the patient's serum.
negative study
A study in which no benefit of a treatment or no association between a risk factor and an outcome is demonstrated. Such studies may be important in disproving misconceptions about a disease, treatment, or presumed associations between risk factors and outcomes.
SYN: SEE: negative trial
nerve conduction study
ABBR: NCS An electrodiagnostic study to determine whether the conduction of impulses along specific nerves is normal or pathologically slowed. In the test, an electrical shock is given to a nerve that controls a particular muscle. The time for the muscle to contract and the distance for the electrical stimulus to travel along the nerve are recorded. In patients with neuropathies, the expected velocity of impulse conduction will not be met; slowing will be evident. Patients with cut or injured nerves will show maximal slowing of impulse conduction.
observational study
A study in which the results are obtained retrospectively or without a control group. Some examples include case reports, chart reviews, and longitudinal studies of large cohorts followed over time.
SYN: SEE: observational trial
open-label study
open label study A clinical study without a control group, in which both patients and researchers know the identity of the treatment and its dosage.
pilot study
A study that investigates a previously unexamined drug, protocol, or health care technology.
prospective study
A clinical or epidemiological study of patients or subjects that begins with a specific environmental, medical, social event, or intervention and records the consequences of that event in relation to a fixed date or conclusion. Prospective studies in which both the investigators and the research subjects are unaware of treatment assignments are considered among the most meaningful in health care.
retrospective study
A clinical study in which patients or their records are investigated after the patients have experienced the disease, condition, or treatment.
role delineation study
ABBR: RD study A study that describes those tasks critical for competent job performance by identifying the minimum amount of knowledge and skills required to perform job-related functions. RD study results are often used to develop certification and licensing examinations in the health professions.
scoping study
A study of what is known about a topic (such as a disease or a treatment) to help guide how future research on it should be focussed.
SYN: SEE: scoping review
sleep study
SEE: Polysomnography.
