Abstract
In 1743 Francis Hauksbee the Younger published a proposal for an ‘Experimentum Crucis’ (‘decisive experiment’) to compare his own medication for venereal disease with other treatments. Previously he had sought to replicate the methods of James Jurin FRS, who published outcomes from inoculation against smallpox in the 1720s. By seeking to record outcomes (‘Safety and Efficacy’) of his medicine used by local doctors, Hauksbee aimed ‘to lay the Whole of the Evidence (both for and against [his medicine]) properly attested before the Publick’. Owing to lack of engagement from doctors and bitter allegations of quackery, Hauksbee then proposed his ‘decisive experiment’ in ten practical steps. This called for twelve patients, half of whom would receive Hauksbee’s medication and the remaining half treatments of other doctors. Hauksbee insisted that patient outcomes be independently assessed and that the findings for all twelve be published, specifically long-term clinical outcomes (a ‘lasting cure’). Hauksbee’s proposal is an early model for a prospective controlled trial with patients allocated to two or more groups. The date of publication, subject (venereal disease), twelve participants, and importance of considering patients’ diet and accommodation suggest that Hauksbee’s proposal was the inspiration for James Lind’s 1747 trial of treatments for scurvy.
https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsnr.2024.0033
2 Medical News 