![]() In these circumstances, time-based parameters available from the time-to-event curve, such as the ratio of the median times of the placebo and drug groups, should be used to describe the magnitude of the benefit to the patient. However, the hazard ratio, a type of relative risk, does not always accurately portray the degree of abbreviation of the illness that occurred. Hazard ratios have also been used to describe the outcome of therapeutic trials where the question is to what extent treatment can shorten the duration of the illness. The hazard ratio describes the relative risk of the complication based on comparison of event rates. The goal of treatment in such studies may be to prevent the development of a complication, for example, Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia, and to describe the likelihood of this complication's developing in the treatment group compared to the control group. This methodology has the advantage of using all available information, including patients who fail to complete the trial, such as in cancer chemotherapy or human immunodeficiency virus antiviral treatment studies. Time-to-event curves analyzed by Cox proportional hazards regression are commonly used to describe the outcome of drug studies.
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