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Do studies calculate the NNT appropriately?
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Do studies calculate the NNT appropriately?
The number-needed-to-treat (NNT), a measure used to assess the benefits (NNTB) and harms (NNTH) of medical interventions, can give an indication of the effectiveness of a treatment.1 NNTs are sometimes used by clinicians and healthcare policy makers to compare interventions. However, a recent appraisal found evidence to suggest that nearly one third of studies fail to follow basic methodological recommendations when calculating the NNT.2
The NNT estimates the number of patients who need to be …