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	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

To the Editor: Dr Kumana and colleagues¹ explained that "another useful comparative term is the number (of persons) needed to treat over a given period to prevent 1 person from experiencing an event . . . ." The critical word "additional" should be added before the word "person," and the phrase "in comparison with control treatments" should be added at the end of the phrase.

By adding the word "additional" the extra benefit of an intervention compared with the outcomes in a control group would be emphasized. This is particularly important when a new treatment is compared with a standard treatment, unless the usual treatment has no benefits at all. For the same relative risk reduction (RRR), the magnitude of the number needed to treat (NNT) depends on the event rate of an adverse outcome in the control group. For the same RRR, the NNT will be greater in a . . . [Full Text of this Article]

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Gauging the Impact of Statins Using Number Needed to Treat
C. R. Kumana, B. M. Y. Cheung, and I. J. Lauder
JAMA. 1999;282(20):1899-1901.
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