CDISC-Gloss – Demographic, clinical, and other data collected for each participant at the beginning of the trial before the intervention is administered. NOTE: Randomized, controlled trials aim to compare groups of participants that differ only with respect to the intervention (treatment). although proper random assignment prevents selection bias, it does not guarantee that the groups are equivalent at baseline. any differences in baseline characteristics are, however, the result of chance rather than bias. The study groups should be compared at baseline for important demographic and clinical characteristics. Baseline data may be especially valuable when the outcome measure can also be measured at the start of the trial. [CONSORT statement]