Assignment task: Read the information below to write a conclusion based on a 95% Confidence Interval for the following randomized trial.
A randomized trial is designed to evaluate the effectiveness of a newly developed pain reliever designed to reduce pain in patients following joint replacement surgery. The trial compares the new pain reliever to the pain reliever currently in use (called the standard of care). A total of 100 patients undergoing joint replacement surgery agreed to participate in the trial. Patients were randomly assigned to receive either the new pain reliever or the standard pain reliever following surgery and were blind to the treatment assignment. Before receiving the assigned treatment, patients were asked to rate their pain on a scale of 0-10 with higher scores indicative of more pain. Each patient was then given the assigned treatment and after 30 minutes was again asked to rate their pain on the same scale. The primary outcome was a reduction in pain of 3 or more scale points (defined by clinicians as a clinically meaningful reduction). The following data were observed in the trial.
Treatment Group n Number with Reduction Proportion with Reduction
of 3+ Points of 3+ Points
New Pain Reliever 50 23 0.46
Standard Pain Reliever 50 11 0.22
Hint 1: Tests with Two Independent Samples, Dichotomous Outcome.
Hint 2: Remember the Confidence Interval z score table.
- Contribute a minimum of (1) page listing the hypotheses, test statistic used, standard z score, and your conclusion based on your calculations.