Individual Reporting of N-of-1 Trials to Patients and Clinicians

Abstract

This chapter offers a very practical account of the reporting of N-of-1 trials to patients and clinicians, using trials for chronic pain conditions as models which may be applied to many other forms of N-of-1 trials. It draws from the author's experience in managing N-of-1 trials comparing celecoxib with extended release paracetamol for chronic pain and osteoarthritis and comparing gabapentin with placebo for chronic neuropathic pain Reporting the results of N-of-1 trials to patients and health care professionals requires considerable planning to make reports user-friendly and an efficient tool for clinical decision making. Decisions need to be made about key elements of the report, how to order them with the most important summary elements first followed by detailed results, and how to set thresholds for clinically important changes. The inclusion of tables and graphs in reports should improve readability. An example of an individual report is provided. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)