treatment switching

Alteration of a patient’s treatment in a clinical trial where the patient discontinues their assigned treatment and commences an alternative treatment.

Note 1: Treatment switching may be either a planned or unplanned part of a trial. Patients most commonly switch from the control group to the experimental treatment.

Note 2: The alternative treatment can include another trial treatment, a non-trial treatment, or no treatment.

Note 3: Synonyms include treatment crossover.