title: Common pitfalls in statistical analysis: Intention-to-treat versus per-protocol analysis.
abstract: During the conduct of clinical trials, it is not uncommon to have protocol violations or inability to assess outcomes. This article in our series on common pitfalls in statistical analysis explains the complexities of analyzing results from such trials and highlights the importance of "intention-to-treat" analysis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anaesthesiology, Tata Memorial Centre, Parel, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.
authors.forename: Priya
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ranganathan
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgical Oncology, Division of Thoracic Surgery, Tata Memorial Centre, Parel, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.
authors.forename: C S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Pramesh
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India.
authors.forename: Rakesh
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Aggarwal
keywords: Bias; biostatistics; intention-to-treat analysis