Systematic review and simulation study of ignoring clustered data in surgical trials.

CONCLUSION: Clustering was rarely considered in inguinal hernia trials. The simulations underline the importance of considering clustering as part of the statistical analysis to avoid false-positive and false-negative results, and hence inappropriate study conclusions.
PMID: 29405280 [PubMed - in process]

Source: The British Journal of Surgery - February 1, 2018 Category: Surgery Authors: Dell-Kuster S, Droeser RA, Schäfer J, Gloy V, Ewald H, Schandelmaier S, Hemkens LG, Bucher HC, Young J, Rosenthal R Tags: Br J Surg Source Type: research