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Comparative Study
. 2011 Feb 2;93(3):e8.
doi: 10.2106/JBJS.I.01555.

Is a subgroup claim believable? A user's guide to subgroup analyses in the surgical literature

Study to Prospectively Evaluate Reamed Intramedullary Nails in Tibial Fractures (SPRINT) Investigators  1 ; Xin Sun, Diane Heels-Ansdell, Stephen D Walter, Gordon Guyatt, Sheila Sprague, Mohit Bhandari, David Sanders, Emil Schemitsch, Paul Tornetta 3rd, Marc Swiontkowski
Collaborators, Affiliations
Comparative Study

Is a subgroup claim believable? A user's guide to subgroup analyses in the surgical literature

Study to Prospectively Evaluate Reamed Intramedullary Nails in Tibial Fractures (SPRINT) Investigators et al. J Bone Joint Surg Am. .
No abstract available

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Subgroup analyses for the primary outcome (i.e., reoperation). The first point estimate and confidence interval in this figure indicates the main effect. The subsequent pairs of point estimates and confidence intervals indicate the effect of reamed compared with unreamed nailing on reoperation in twelve subgroup variables. **The subgroup analyses were conducted post hoc. Subgroup analysis by the Tscherne type included patients with closed facture only, and analysis by Gustilo type included open fracture only. In our analysis that included significant and nonsignificant interactions, these two interactions were not included in the regression model, resulting in ten interaction terms being included in the model. (Reprinted, with modification, from: Sun X, Briel M, Walter SD, Guyatt GH. Is a subgroup effect believable? Updating criteria to evaluate the credibility of subgroup analyses. BMJ. 2010;340:c117, with permission from BMJ Publishing Group Ltd.)
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Meta-analysis of randomized trials of reamed nailing compared with unreamed nailing in patients with a tibial shaft fracture-.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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