February, 2003
© 2000, 2001 Scott S. Emerson, M.D., Ph.D.
Statistical issues
due to rare events (cont.)
The
increased error rate of acting on such trends is a
necessary evil
·Of some
solace is the fact that most new treatments do not prove
beneficial, so such conservatism is probably not too
harmful in the quest for new treatments
·In essence,
we decide to only look at the most safe treatments (and the
trials that tended to result in the safest profile)