Ondansetron and cisplatin-induced nausea and vomiting

To the Editor: I read with dismay the article by Cubeddu and colleagues (March 22 issue)1 on the effect of ondansetron on the nausea and vomiting induced by cisplatin chemotherapy. When Gifford and Feinstein2 introduced the concept of the double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial, their aim was to bring clarity to an area of clinical research — i.e., anticoagulation after myocardial infarction; they never advocated placing more importance on research than on the appropriate care of the patient. The work of Cubeddu et al. does just that. Because they failed to provide prophylactic antiemetic drugs to the control group treated with.