Why do doctors use treatments that do not work?

The authors of this editorial, Jenny Doust and Chris Del Mar, prompted by a rapid response, have alerted us to an error in their editorial (28 February, pp 474-5). In the fourth paragraph, they misquoted reference 9. The authors had written that flecainide for the treatment of supraventricular tachycardia makes the electrocardiogram look normal, whereas the trial cited investigated use of flecainide for ventricular tachycardia.