Compass is still being developed and is effectively in beta. Some content and features may be incomplete, change, or not work as expected.

Content is anchored to trusted sources where available, but Compass has not yet been clinically reviewed. It provides general information rather than medical advice.

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Treatments and research

Open-label

A study in which everyone knows who is receiving the treatment.

What it means

Often used for the phase after a blinded comparison, where everybody who took part is offered the active treatment. Results from open-label periods are useful but weaker, because expectation can influence what is reported.

Why you might hear it

  • Trials often advertise an open-label extension as part of what is offered.
  • Research news sometimes reports open-label results as though they were trial results.

Where Compass goes into this

About this explanation

These are plain explanations of words you may come across, not advice about your own situation. Where a word matters to a decision, the question pages go into it properly, and your own team is the place to take it.