Practice abstract
British Dental Journal 193, 495 - 498 (2002)
Published online: 9 November 2002 | doi:10.1038/sj.bdj.4801608
Further statistics in dentistry Part 3: Clinical trials 1
A Petrie1, J S Bulman2 & J F Osborn3
- Justification of the use of 'controls' and 'blinding' in a clinical trial
- An explanation of the need for and the process of randomisation
- A discussion of the ethical problems in a clinical trial
- An understanding of an intention-to-treat analysis
Further statistics in dentistry:
- Research designs 1
- Research designs 2
- Clinical trials 1
- Clinical trials 2
- Diagnostic tests for oral conditions
- Multiple linear regression
- Repeated measures
- Systematic reviews and meta-analyses
- Bayesian statistics
- Sherlock Holmes, evidence and evidence-based dentistry
Abstract
The clinical trial is a planned experiment, strictly on human subjects, which is conducted with a view to investigating the efficacy of one or more treatments for a given condition. It is possible to use statistical techniques to make inferences about the population of patients who will present to the practitioner in the future using information obtained from the sample of patients in the trial. Consequently, the results of the trial may be expected to influence the way in which patients with the condition are treated in the future.
- Senior Lecturer in Statistics, Eastman Dental Institute for Oral Health Care Sciences, University College London
- Honorary Reader in Dental Public Health, Eastman Dental Institute for Oral Health Care Sciences, University College London
- Professor of Epidemiological Methods, University of Rome, La Sapienza
Correspondence to: A Petrie1
Senior Lecturer in Statistics, Biostatistics Unit, Eastman Dental Institute for Oral Health Care Sciences, University College London, 256 Gray's Inn Road, London WC1X 8LD
e-mail: a.petrie@eastman.ucl.ac.uk
