Confidence Intervals Extract Clinically Useful Information from Data
Authors: LEONARD E. BRAITMAN
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (1988)

Editorials1 February 1988Confidence Intervals Extract Clinically Useful Information from DataLEONARD E. BRAITMAN, Ph.D.LEONARD E. BRAITMAN, Ph.D.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-108-2-296 SectionsAboutPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail ExcerptA paper reporting a trial of a new treatment or diagnostic test is difficult to interpret when its conclusions are based on a small number of subjects. The statistical descriptors known as confidence intervals can increase the ability of readers to evaluate conclusions drawn from small trials. Fortunately, an increasing number of journals are asking authors to add confidence intervals to the reporting of data in their papers (1-9).Most clinical studies are necessarily based on a sample (a group of patients or experimental subjects) thought to be reasonably representative of the entire population of patients or of the subjects...References1. BAILARMOSTELLER JF. Guidelines for statistical reporting in articles for medical journals: amplifications and explanations. Ann Intern Med. 1988;108:266-73. LinkGoogle Scholar2. SIMON R. Confidence intervals for reporting results of clinical trials. Ann Intern Med. 1986;105:429-35. LinkGoogle Scholar3. ROTHMAN K. Significance questing [Editorial]. Ann Intern Med. 1986;105:445-7. LinkGoogle Scholar4. FREIMANCHALMERSSMITHKUEBLER JTHR. The importance of beta, the type II error and sample size in the design and interpretation of the randomized control trial: survey of 71 "negative" trials. N Engl J Med. 1978;299:690-4. 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HUTH, M.D. 1 February 1988Volume 108, Issue 2Page: 296-298KeywordsBiostatisticsConfidence intervalsInformation retrievalPatient advocacyResearch design Issue Published: 1 February 1988 PDF downloadLoading ...