A team of psychiatrists undertakes a double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized study to assess the effectiveness and safety of cariprazine for the treatment of depressive episodes associated with bipolar I disorder (bipolar depression) in adults. The treatment response rate for cariprazine was 46% against 32% for placebo, while the rate for all adverse events was 7% for cariprazine versus 5% for placebo. The rate differences were statistically significant. Which of the following is the estimated number of patients who must be exposed to cariprazine in order to injure 1 person who would not have been harmed otherwise?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Eductional Objective: The number required to harm (NNH) is the number of persons who must be exposed to a therapy in order to hurt one person who would not have been harmed otherwise. The absolute risk increase (ARI) between the treatment and control groups must be known in order to compute NNH: NNH = 1 / ARI.

A Team of Psychiatrists Undertakes a Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Randomized Study