Partially randomised, patient preference trials for inflammatory bowel disease

Clinical trials, particularly randomised controlled trials (RCTs), have long been considered the gold-standard means to assess new interventions in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). However, similar to other areas of gastroenterology and hepatology, an increasing problem for trials in IBD has been the declining rates of patient participation and recruitment,1 contributing to the exponentially rising costs of conducting RCTs.2 In the same time period, there has also been an increasing appreciation of the factors (eg, intravenous, subcutaneous, or oral administration of medications) that could influence patients' preferences and decision making for treatments.