Absolute Risk
Completeness of reporting trial results: effect on physicians' willingness to prescribe. Bobbio M, Demichelis B, Giustetto G. Lancet 1994: 343(8907); 1209-11. [Medline]
General practice registrar responses to the use of different risk communication tools in simulated consultations: a focus group study. Edwards A. British Medical Journal 1999: 319(7212); 749-752.
Explaining risks: turning numerical data into meaningful pictures. Edwards A, Elwyn G, Mulley A. Bmj 2002: 324(7341); 827-30. [Medline] [Full text] [PDF]
Evidence based purchasing: understanding results of clinical trials and systematic reviews. Fahey T, Griffiths S, Peters TJ. British Medical Journal 1995: 311(7012); 1056-9; discussion 1059-60. [Medline] [Abstract] [Full text]
Absolutely relative: how research results are summarized can affect treatment decisions. Forrow L, Taylor W, Arnold R. The American Journal of Medicine 1992: 92(2); 121-24.
Communicating the benefits of chronic preventive therapy: does the format of efficacy data determine patients' acceptance of treatment? Hux J, Naylor C. Medical Decision Making 1995: 15(2); 152-7.
Absolute and relative truth in clinical trials. Julian D. Lancet 2002(June): 359(9321); 1945-1946.
Quality of life questionnaires: does statistically significant = clinically important? Juniper EF. J Allergy Clin Immunol 1998: 102(1); 16-7. [Medline] [Full text] [PDF]
An assessment of clinically useful measures of the consequences of treatment. Laupacis A, Sackett D, Roberts R. New England Journal of Med 1988: 318(26); 1728-1733. [Medline]
Consider absolute risks in SIDS prevention. Logan S. Arch Dis Child 2000: 83(5); 457.
Who benefits from medical interventions? Smith GD, Egger M. Bmj 1994: 308(6921); 72-4. [Medline] [Full text]
Women need better information about routine mammography. Thornton H, Edwards A, Baum M. Bmj 2003: 327(7406); 101-3. [Medline] [Full text] [PDF]
"Absolute" is inappropriate for quantitative risk estimation. Tunstall-Pedoe H. BMJ 2000: 320(7236); 723-. [Full text]
Confidence Intervals
Statistical Significance and Clinical Relevance: A Contradiction?. Hauschke D, Statistical Solutions. Accessed on 2003-06-24. www.statsol.ie/equivtest/hauschke1.htm
Examples
Grapefruits and drugs: when is statistically significant clinically significant? Abernethy DR. J Clin Invest 1997: 99(10); 2297-8. [Medline] [Full text] [PDF]
The association of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs with upper gastrointestinal tract bleeding. Carson JL, Strom BL, Soper KA, West SL, Morse ML. Arch Intern Med 1987: 147(1); 85-8. [Medline]
Effect of homoeopathy on pain and other events after acute trauma: placebo controlled trial with bilateral oral surgery. Lokken P, Straumsheim PA, Tveiten D, Skjelbred P, Borchgrevink CF. British Medical Journal 1995: 310(6992); 1439-42. [Medline] [Abstract] [Full text]
Interventions for promoting smoking cessation during pregnancy. Lumley J, Oliver S, Waters E. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2000: (2); CD001055. [Abstract]
Quality of randomised controlled trials in head injury. Trials in head injury are more complex than review suggests. Murray GD, Teasdale GM. British Medical Journal 2000: 321(7270); 1223. [Medline] [Full text]
Assessing clinically significant change: application to the SCL-90-R. Schmitz N, Hartkamp N, Franke GH. Psychol Rep 2000: 86(1); 263-74. [Medline]
The Crack Baby Epidemic That Wasn't. What Statistics Mean, and Don't Mean. Schwartzberg NS. Accessed on 2003-07-15. www.biomednet.com/hmsbeagle/50/people/op_ed.htm
Multiple doses of secretin in the treatment of autism: a controlled study. Sponheim E, Oftedal G, Helverschou SB. Acta Paediatr 2002: 91(5); 540-5. [Medline]
What is the relationship between the minimally important difference and health state utility values? The case of the SF-6D. Walters SJ, Brazier JE. Health Qual Life Outcomes 2003: 1(1); 4. [Medline]
Methodology
What is the chance that this study is clinically significant? A proposal for Q values. Froehlich GW. Eff Clin Pract 1999: 2(5); 234-9. [Medline] [Full text]
Negative Trials
Survey of claims of no effect in abstracts of Cochrane reviews. Alderson P, Chalmers I. Bmj 2003: 326(7387); 475. [Medline] [Full text] [PDF]
Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. Altman DG, Bland JM. British Medical Journal 1995: 311(7003); 485. [Medline] [Full text]
Underpowered clinical trials of antiretroviral treatment. Arribas JR, Pulido F. Jama 2002: 288(17); 2120; author reply 2120-1. [Medline]
The prevalence of negative studies with inadequate statistical power: an analysis of the plastic surgery literature. Chung KC, Kalliainen LK, Spilson SV, Walters MR, Kim HM. Plast Reconstr Surg 2002: 109(1); 1-6; discussion 7-8. [Medline]
Negative results of randomized clinical trials published in the surgical literature: equivalency or error? Dimick JB, Diener-West M, Lipsett PA. Arch Surg 2001: 136(7); 796-800. [Medline]
Putting trials on trial--the costs and consequences of small trials in depression: a systematic review of methodology. Hotopf M, Lewis G, Normand C. J Epidemiol Community Health 1997: 51(4); 354-8.
