[V: p values: what they do tell and what they don't...].
Both an extensive data description and an explicit assessment of a study result's statistical significance should be presented in the result section of a clinical trial report. Whereas the description illustrates the order and clinical relevance of the study findings, the statistical significance describes its generalizability to patients not included in the clinical trial: Despite the random recruitment of patients into a trial, the study results may fail to represent clinical reality (for example the trial might show falsely positive efficacy findings, whereas in "clinical reality" efficacy appears rather limited). A p value measures the statistical significance of a study result -- the smaller the p value turns out, the fewer statistical evidence for "random" findings. The clinical relevance of study findings can be measured by median differences or absolute and relative risks, for example, between two therapeutic strategies. Compact table structures for the simultaneous representation of clinical relevance and statistical significance in a paper's result and discussion section are proposed.
Krummenauer
Frank
F
Institut für Medizinische Biometrie, Epidemiologie und Informatik der Universität Mainz. krummi@imsd.uni-mainz.de
D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D006801:Humans; D007429:Intraocular Pressure / Q000187:drug effects*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012107:Research Design / Q000706:statistics & numerical data