Abstract
A multiple testing procedure is proposed for comparing two treatments when response to treatment is both dichotomous (i.e., success or failure) and immediate. The proposed test statistic for each test is the usual (Pearson) chi-square statistic based on all data collected to that point. The maximum number (N) of tests and the number (m1 + m2) of observations collected between successive tests is fixed in advance. The overall size of the procedure is shown to be controlled with virtually the same accuracy as the single sample chi-square test based on N(m1 + m2) observations. The power is also found to be virtually the same. However, by affording the opportunity to terminate early when one treatment performs markedly better than the other, the multiple testing procedure may eliminate the ethical dilemmas that often accompany clinical trials.
Keywords
StatisticsStatisticTest statisticSample size determinationChi-square testTest (biology)Statistical hypothesis testingMultiple comparisons problemMathematicsComputer scienceMedicine
MeSH Terms
Clinical Trials as TopicHumansStatistics as Topic
Affiliated Institutions
Related Publications
Evaluating Structural Equation Models with Unobservable Variables and Measurement Error
The statistical tests used in the analysis of structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error are examined. A drawback of the commonly applied chi s...
Likelihood Ratio Tests for Model Selection and Non-Nested Hypotheses
In this paper, we develop a classical approach to model selection. Using the Kullback-Leibler Information Criterion to measure the closeness of a model to the truth, we propose ...
Statistical Problems in the Reporting of Clinical Trials
Reports of clinical trials often contain a wealth of data comparing treatments. This can lead to problems in interpretation, particularly when significance testing is used exten...
On the development and psychometric testing of the WHO screening instrument to assess disablement in the general population
Abstract The development and psychometric testing of the new World Health Organization (WHO) disablement screening instrument for the general population is described. Two sample...
Multiple Tests for Different Sets of Variables Using a Data‐Driven Ordering of Hypotheses, with an Application to Gene Expression Data
A multiple parametric test procedure is proposed, which considers tests of means of several variables. The single variables or subsets of variables are ordered according to a da...
Publication Info
- Year
- 1979
- Type
- article
- Volume
- 35
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 549-549
- Citations
- 3274
- Access
- Closed
External Links
Social Impact
Altmetric
PlumX Metrics
Social media, news, blog, policy document mentions
Citation Metrics
3274
OpenAlex
181
Influential
2530
CrossRef
Cite This
Peter C. O’Brien,
Thomas R. Fleming
(1979).
A Multiple Testing Procedure for Clinical Trials.
Biometrics
, 35
(3)
, 549-549.
https://doi.org/10.2307/2530245
Identifiers
- DOI
- 10.2307/2530245
- PMID
- 497341