Testing for baseline differences in clinical trials

Abstract

Reporting statistical tests for baseline measures of clinical trials does not make sense since the statistical significance is dependent on sample size, as a large trial can find significance in the same difference that a small trial did not find to be statistically significant. We use 3 published trials using the same baseline measures to provide the relationship between trial sample size and p value. For trial 1 sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) score, p=0.01, 10.4±3.4 vs. 9.6±3.2, difference=0.8; p=0.007 for vasopressors, 83.0% vs. 72.6%. Trial 2 has SOFA score 11±3 vs. 12±3, difference=1, p=0.42. Trial 3 has vasopressors 73% vs. 83%, p=0.21. Based on trial 2, supine group has a mean of 12 and an SD of 3 for SOFA score, while prone group has a mean of 11 and an SD of 3 for SOFA score. The p values are 0.29850, 0.09877, 0.01940, 0.00094, 0.00005, and <0.00001 when n (per arm) is 20, 50, 100, 200, 300 and 400, respectively. Based on trial 3 information, the vasopressors percentages are 73.0% in the supine group vs. 83.0% in the prone group. The p values are 0.4452, 0.2274, 0.0878, 0.0158, 0.0031, and 0.0006 when n (per arm) is 20, 50, 100, 200, 300 and 400, respectively. Small trials provide larger p values than big trials for the same baseline differences. We cannot define the imbalance in baseline measures only based on these p values. There is no statistical basis for advocating the baseline difference tests