The Use of Self-rating Scales in a Single-patient Multiple Cross-over Trial

The value of measuring changes in symptoms in a single patient has been discussed by a number of authors. (1, 3, 4.) The “self-controlled trial” (1) or the “multiple cross-over method”, i.e. the measurement of responses to repeated and systematic changes in treatment, appears to have advantages over the simple cross-over trial, but the method would be extremely time-consuming in group research with psychiatric patients if the ratings had to be carried out by research workers. The use of valid self-rating scales would make the multiple cross-over method feasible in drug trials with groups of psychiatric patients.