Debate: A subversive view of subsets - a dissident clinician's opinion

Abstract

Abstract Clinical trialists and statisticians are very wary of subgroup analysis, for good reasons. Clinicians have to deal with situations in which subgroups of patients differ widely from one another in their prognosis and response to treatment. Few trials are large enough to demonstrate convincingly these differences in outcome, but often provide suggestive evidence. Should we ignore this and treat all patients as the same, or should we allow dubious statistical evidence to buttress biological plausibility in making clinical decisions?

Keywords

• beta-blockade
• biological plausibility
• clinical trial
• myocardial infarction
• subgroup analysis