Effect of continuous versus dichotomous outcome variables on study power when sample sizes of orthopaedic randomized trials are small

Abstract. It is often not feasible to conduct large trials in orthopaedic surgery. Therefore, surgeons must identify strategies to optimize the statistical power of their smaller studies. The aim of this study was to compare study power in randomized trials with continuous versus dichotomous outcome variables. We performed a systematic review of the literature to identify randomized trials in orthopaedic trauma. Of these, we examined only those …