ASCOT: a tale of two treatment regimens

doi:10.1136/bmj.331.7523.1023

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Is ASCOT all it's cracked up to be?

James A Cave, general practitioner partner (ectopicmailbox-bmj1@yahoo.co.uk)

Downland Practice, Chieveley, Newbury RG20 8UY

EDITOR—Am I alone in thinking the ASCOT study fails to answer the question it was set toanswer, and moreover raises some more?1 McDougall et al seem sure that it has clearly shown that the new combination of angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor and calcium antagonist is beneficial compared with a β blocker and thiazide.2

Firstly, did the inclusion criteria bias the study against β blockers? Patients with peripheral vascular disease and microalbuminuria were included whereas patients with biochemical abnormalities were not. This looks as if …