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Asked by tpattwork13
A study that tested an intervention to reduce pain reported that the NNT was 12. This means that 12 individuals would need to be treated with the intervention for 1 individual to experience a reduction in pain. This may be an acceptable intervention for some individuals to try, yet others may not think their chance of a positive outcome is good enough, particularly if there is also a chance for adverse side effects from the intervention.
Although an NNT of 1 is preferable, there are no hard rules about how low NNT needs to be for a study to be clinically significant. Clinical significance depends on the outcome and the patient group.
Let’s look at another study. Researchers tested nicotine chewing gum in individuals who smoked and reported the NNT = 13. This means that 13 smokers would need to use nicotine gum for 1 individual to stop smoking. Nicotine gum is a relatively inexpensive, easy-to-use treatment with few side effects.
Do you think the Nicotine gum is clinically sound?
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Yes
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No
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