Survival Time Outcomes in Randomized, Controlled Trials and Meta-Analyses: The Parallel Universes of Efficacy and Cost-Effectiveness

Both inference and decisions based on CEAs should be based on the same statistical model. This article shows that for survival outcomes, this is not the case. In the interests of transparency, trial protocols should specify a common procedure for model choice for both purposes. Further, the sufficient statistics and the life tables for each arm should be reported to improve transparency and to facilitate secondary analyses of results of RCTs.