Patient preferences for novel therapy

The authors used the N-of-1 clinical trial methodology to obtain insights about a patient’s preference for garlic for the management of his hypertension. The 61-year-old man received garlic, 500 mg by mouth three times a day (3 weeks), or identical placebo (3 weeks) in three treatment pairs. While the patient was taking garlic the mean systolic blood pressure decreased by 2 mm Hg (95% confidence interval 0.4 to 4.7, p<0.05), and the diastolic blood pressure decreased by 2.4 mm Hg (95% confidence interval 0.4 to 4, p<0.025). The treatment effect of garlic was small, but the patient believed continuing garlic for the management of his hypertension was justified. Received from the Department of Internal Medicine, Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit, Michigan.