A reliable safeguard against unethical research is “the presence of an intelligent, informed, conscientious, compassionate, responsible investigator.”<sup>4 Beecher H.K. Ethics and clinical research N Engl J Med 1966 ;  274 : 1354-1360  [cross-ref]

Cliquez ici pour aller à la section Références</sup> Most cases of unethical research are the result of “thoughtlessness and carelessness, not a willful disregard of the patient's rights.”<sup>4 Beecher H.K. Ethics and clinical research N Engl J Med 1966 ;  274 : 1354-1360  [cross-ref]

Cliquez ici pour aller à la section Références</sup> This article's intent is to inform investigators and others of the rules for conducting ethical research, and by example, show how overlooking these rules can be harmful not only to the patients involved and to future patients but also to the entire research community.

Clinical research is necessary to improve the care provided to patients for illnesses and injuries. This research must be conducted carefully, however, because the experiments use humans as subjects, and their participation in the experiment must be voluntary. This may seem obvious, but a review of clinical research over the last 50 years shows that this concept of voluntary participation in research has not always been foremost in the minds of the researchers. Although the majority of studies and experiments are performed ethically, the breeches are noteworthy. Each time a new problem is sensationalized in the press, it damages the public's perception of research; thus we must examine the details of the study, learn from any mistakes made, and determine how to prevent their recurrence. A review of the more egregious errors and their lessons is therefore in order here.