Minimisation: the platinum standard for trials?

The treatment allocation is then made, not purely by chance, but by determining in which group inclusion of the patient would minimise any differences in these factors. [...]if group A has a higher average age and a disproportionate number of smokers, other things being equal, the next elderly smoke...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inBMJ Vol. 317; no. 7155; pp. 362 - 363
Main Authors Treasure, Tom, MacRae, Kenneth D
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published London British Medical Journal Publishing Group 08.08.1998
BMJ Publishing Group LTD
Subjects
Age
Cardiovascular disease
Clinical trials
Diabetes
Editorials
Heart failure
Medical prognosis
Multivariate analysis
Womens health
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Summary:The treatment allocation is then made, not purely by chance, but by determining in which group inclusion of the patient would minimise any differences in these factors. [...]if group A has a higher average age and a disproportionate number of smokers, other things being equal, the next elderly smoker is likely to be allocated to group B. The allocation may rely on minimisation alone, or still involve chance but "with the dice loaded" in favour of the allocation which minimises the differences.
ISSN:0959-8138
1468-5833
DOI:10.1136/bmj.317.7155.362