help! question 9B.

help! question 9B.

by Brian -
Number of replies: 2

question 9B is asking for a number needed to treat (NNT), which i get is 1 / Absolute risk reduction (ARR). However, the data given is in rate  (2.0 per 10,000 person years)- anyone know how to approach this to obtain the risk ratio? thx. confused 

In reply to Brian

Re: help! question 9B.

by Carolyn Hendrickson -

Hi Brian,

I had the same question. I looked through the slides and the book and didn't see a reference to this problem.  I googled and found some legit websites and articles that converted the person-year time as follows:

2/10,000 person years--> 0.0002/ person year

ARR= 0.0002-0=0.0002

I was going to ask about this in small group, but I found this approach in several locations so I'm going to go with it for the HW.

 

In reply to Carolyn Hendrickson

Re: help! question 9B.

by Thomas Newman -

Sorry I missed this before.  I tried to set it to send me an email with new posts, but not working.

If the ARR is expressed as a rate, then the NNT will still be its reciprocal, and it will include the duration of treatment needed.  For example, if the ARR is 5% over a 3 year study then it's 5%/3 yr and when you turn it upside down it's 20x 3 years; i.e., treat 20 people for 3 years to prevent 1 event.

Does that help?