Table 1 Definition of Placebo Intervention, Pure, and Impure Placebos
From: Use of placebo interventions among Swiss primary care providers
Placebo intervention | We define a placebo intervention as a diagnostic or therapeutic sham intervention or as an intervention with substances or physical methods which have no direct pharmacological, biochemical or physical mechanism of action according to the current standard of knowledge. The term includes a considerable variety of interventions, thus not only the administration of lactose tablets or isotonic saline solution. |
Pure placebos | Are inert substances or methods such as sugar pills or isotonic saline solution. |
Impure placebos | Refer to substances or methods which have a known pharmacological or physical activity but which cannot be expected to have any direct therapeutic effects for the respective disease and in the chosen dosage, e.g. vitamin infusions for cancer or peppermint pills for pharyngitis. |