A 60-year-old man with chronic back pain presents for spine surgery. According to a recent study comparing the use of conditioned open-label placebo with treatment as usual after spine surgery, which of the following outcomes is MOST likely in the conditioned open-label placebo group?
Placebo treatments have shown promising clinical benefits without increasing morbidity or symptoms for many pathologies. However, the deception and concealment of placebo use challenges the concept of informed consent and ethical aspect of the clinical care provided. Recently, the use of conditioned and open-label placebos has demonstrated effectiveness in treating a variety of conditions while addressing the transparency of the process and acceptance by patients. Transparent application of placebo has been studied to a limited extent in patients with chronic back pain and has shown promising results. However, it has not been previously examined in postsurgical patients, although traditional placebos have shown efficacy in this patient...
