کد مقاله کد نشریه سال انتشار مقاله انگلیسی نسخه تمام متن
3462949 1231524 2010 4 صفحه PDF دانلود رایگان
عنوان انگلیسی مقاله ISI
Rank-Minimization for balanced assignment of subjects in clinical trials
موضوعات مرتبط
علوم پزشکی و سلامت پزشکی و دندانپزشکی پزشکی و دندانپزشکی (عمومی)
پیش نمایش صفحه اول مقاله
Rank-Minimization for balanced assignment of subjects in clinical trials
چکیده انگلیسی

Minimization (M) is the most popular algorithm for balancing large numbers of subject variables in treatment groups of small clinical trials. However, its use has been limited because of its complexity, vulnerability to selection bias and lack of a generally accepted method for statistical analysis of the data. Rank-Minimization (RM) is a promising new algorithm. It is less complex since it does not require unique programming for each clinical trial to convert continuous to categorical variables. In this study RM is compared to M for balance of variables and vulnerability to selection bias in 1000 simulated trials using 200 subjects with 15 continuous variables. With RM there were no instances of significant imbalance to cause rejection of the null hypothesis, i.e. a Student's t ≥ 2, although it occurred in 0.4% of the 15000 tests for M. For moderate imbalance, i.e. 1 ≤ t < 2, the figures were 3% (RM) and 12% (M). The probability of guessing the next assignment was 0.636 (RM) and 0.683 (M). The smaller figure is superior to that of restricted randomization in blocks of five per treatment group. Improvement in balance, a decrease in vulnerability to selection bias and ease of application along with improvements in the statistical analysis should result in the general acceptance of RM for assigning subjects to treatment groups in clinical trials.

ناشر
Database: Elsevier - ScienceDirect (ساینس دایرکت)
Journal: Contemporary Clinical Trials - Volume 31, Issue 2, March 2010, Pages 147–150
نویسندگان
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