A landmark study conducted by Joseph Lister and published in 1867 to investigate the benefits of sterile technique in surgery. At the time, it was not customary for surgeons to wash their hands or instruments prior to operating on patients. Lister developed a new operating procedure in which surgeons were required to wash their hands, wear clean gloves, and disinfect surgical instruments with carbolic acid. This new procedure was compared to the old, non-sterile procedure and Lister recorded the number of patients in each group that lived or died.
Group: Whether or not sterile technique was used on the patient (Sterile, Control)Outcome: Whether or not the patient died (Died, Survived)Lister J. (1870). On the effects of the antiseptic system of treatment upon the salubrity of a surgical hospital. The Lancet, 95: 4-6, 40-42.