Journal article
Can we individualize the ‘number needed to treat’? An empirical study of summary effect measures in meta-analyses
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Meta-analyses summarize the magnitude of treatment effect using a number of measures of association, including the odds ratio (OR), risk ratio (RR), risk difference (RD) and/or number needed to treat (NNT). In applying the results of a meta-analysis to individual patients, some textbooks of evidence-based medicine advocate individualizing NNT, based on the RR and the patient's expected event rate (PEER). This approach assumes …
Authors
Furukawa TA; Guyatt GH; Griffith LE
Journal
International Journal of Epidemiology, Vol. 31, No. 1, pp. 72–76
Publisher
Oxford University Press (OUP)
Publication Date
February 1, 2002
DOI
10.1093/ije/31.1.72
ISSN
0300-5771