title: A sequential trial of pain killers in arthritis: issues of multiple comparisons with control and of interval-censored survival data.
abstract: A large clinical comparison of pain killers used in the treatment of arthritis was conducted using a sequential design. The trial presented two major challenges: there were three treatments to be compared, and patients were assessed annually for up to 7 years. Treatment comparisons were made by selecting appropriate pairwise comparisons, to which standard theory could be applied. Rules concerning actions to take in the event of each stopping criterion being reached were evaluated by simulation. The annual assessments were used to create an interval-censored survival time: the year during which "disease progression" first occurred.
authors.affiliation: Medical and Pharmaceutical Statistics Research Unit, University of Reading, U.K.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Whitehead
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Thomas
mesh_terms: D000700:Analgesics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001168:Arthritis / Q000150:complications* / Q000188:drug therapy*; D003198:Computer Simulation; D006801:Humans; D007213:Indomethacin / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008432:Mathematical Computing; D008954:Models, Biological; D010146:Pain / Q000188:drug therapy*; D011422:Propionates / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic / Q000379:methods*; D013223:Statistics as Topic / Q000379:methods*; D016019:Survival Analysis; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D000700:Analgesics; D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal; D011422:Propionates; C021270:tiaprofenic acid; D007213:Indomethacin