Clinical Trials

❘❙❚■ Chapter 35 | Use of TablesIntroductionThe main results of clinical trials research are often reported in tables and figureswithin a research report or in a peer-reviewed manuscript. Very few research orstudy reports contain text alone. The benefits of collating results into tables arethat they are concise and usually follow a logical order. Tables reduce the need fortext, and allow an easy comparison of treatment effects. Furthermore, moststatistical software can be programmed to generate tables; therefore, it is easy toproduce revised tables if patients are added (or removed) from the dataset.Incorporating such revisions into text is more time consuming.Ideally, the reader should be able to interpret tables and figures with little orno reference to the text. Once recruitment statistics have been reported (usuallyin a trial profile or a flow chart) then a baseline table should follow, withdemographic and clinical characteristics of the patients, for each arm of thetrial [1]. Constructing an appropriate baseline table is described in more detailin Chapter 34. Results tables usually follow, presenting clinical outcomes for eachtrial arm in adjacent columns, usually with additional column(s) to directlycompare the arms. Finally, adverse events, prespecified secondary outcomes,outcomes at additional time points, and subgroup analyses results are tabled.Whilst tables are essential for reporting results, detailed information on themethods used for the study are best provided in text format. These mightelaborate on the specific method of randomization used, use of nonparametric orunusual statistical tests, construction of subgroups, and handling of missing data,as required. It is also unnecessary to use a table when very little information needsto be presented, particularly considering that tables require relatively more effortto produce and handle (certainly for journal editors), and that the inclusion of toomany tables and figures duplicating information makes a report more difficult toproduce, read, and appreciate [2].Indeed, endless tables make it almost impossible to memorize the results and tofind the more important information without guidance in the accompanying text.When large reports are necessary/standard practice, such as reports for datamonitoring boards, it is a time-consuming and skilful task to extract the pertinentinformation. A single results line might contain the reason for delaying orterminating an entire study. Therefore it is important to be sensible about theconstruction of tables, bearing in mind the intended audience.392