The Intention-to-Treat Principle How to Assess the True Effect of Choosing a Medical Treatment

• Autores: Michelle A. Detry, Roger J. Lewis
• Localización: JAMA: the journal of the American Medical Association, ISSN 0098-7484, Vol. 312, Nº. 1, 2014, págs. 85-86
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • The intention-to-treat (ITT) principle is a cornerstone in the interpretation of randomized clinical trials (RCTs) conducted with the goal of influencing the selection of medical therapy for well-defined groups of patients. The ITT principle defines both the study population included in the primary efficacy analysis and how the outcomes are analyzed. Under ITT, study participants are analyzed as members of the treatment group to which they were randomized regardless of their adherence to, or whether they received, the intended treatment.1- 3 For example, in a trial in which patients are randomized to receive either treatment A or treatment B, a patient may be randomized to receive treatment A but erroneously receive treatment B, or never receive any treatment, or not adhere to treatment A. In all of these situations, the patient would be included in group A when comparing treatment outcomes using an ITT analysis. Eliminating study participants who were randomized but not treated or moving participants between treatment groups according to the treatment they received would violate the ITT principle.