Professor Malcolm Hooper September 2011
Introduction Imagine the following fictitious scenario: a high impact medical journal publishes the results of a clinical trial described as a large RCT of "Eutensia" , a new drug for refractory hypertension; the results are impressive, with 30% of those given "Eutensia" reported as having normal blood pressure at the end of the trial.
However, the trial investigators had redefined "the normal range" of blood pressure such that it was possible for a person receiving "Eutensia" to leave the trial with higher blood pressure than before treatment but still be counted as having blood pressure "within the normal range" .
Statistics and how they are reported are currently a hot topic for people with ME following publication of the report of the PACE trial in The Lancet earlier this year (1) where a similar scenario actually exists....
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