Friday, 15 October 2010

Meta-analysis

Often, perhaps usually, a treatment will make some people better, do nothing for others, and make some people worse.

When a treatment makes about as many people worse as it makes better, then meta-analysts say it doesn’t work.

But often it *does* work - for *some* people. Indeed, it might work very well indeed for them.

The other people - those for whom it makes no difference or makes worse - just need to stop using it - then everyone benefits.

It is just a matter of using patient response as a feedback loop.

Is that really so difficult to understand? - yet I can never get this point across to bio-statisticians/ epidemiologists, meta-analysts and the like…