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Number needed to treat (revision 1)

Old revision·09:00, 29 Sep 2024·Chromatokid

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Number needed to treat
AbbreviationNNT
DefinitionReciprocal of the absolute risk reduction
RequiresA stated time horizon
CounterpartNumber needed to harm
Topic infobox · conventions

The number needed to treat (NNT) is the number of people who must receive a treatment, rather than the comparator, for one additional person to experience the benefit over a defined period. It is the reciprocal of the absolute risk reduction.[1]

Its value is that it expresses effect on an absolute scale. A relative risk reduction of 20% describes a large benefit where the baseline risk is high and a negligible one where it is low; the number needed to treat carries the baseline risk within it.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b Laupacis A, Sackett DL, Roberts RS. "An assessment of clinically useful measures of the consequences of treatment." New England Journal of Medicine 318(26):1728–1733 (1988). PMID 3374545.