Figure 2.
Percent of simulations suggesting clinical harm (i.e., an increase in intensive care unit (ICU) length of stay (LOS)) or benefit (i.e., a decrease in ICU LOS). These results correspond to the simulation settings with n = 250 or n = 1,000 patients (with 1:1 randomization) and a 30% control arm mortality rate. On average, setting 1 (Panel A) had no treatment-associated mortality reduction, whereas settings 2 (Panel B) and 3 (Panel C) had an absolute treatment-associated mortality reduction of 2.5%. Setting 3 restricted the treatment-associated mortality effect to simulated patients who survived beyond the longest tertile of their hypothetical ICU LOS. Additional details of the Monte Carlo simulation study are summarized in the EMethods.