Can someone explain this concept?

[Sage880]

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Usually I'm ok with math but I'm having a little trouble with this right now...

If there's a drug study where people are being treated with a drug x and deaths are recorded:

Number in study on drug: A
Number in study on placebo: B
Percent on drug who died: C%
Percent on placebo who died: D%

What's the formula for "how many patients need to be treated to save one life"? I can't figure out the answer and it's driving me crazy!!!

 

[lord_jeebus]

1 / (D% - c%)

 

[Scaredshizzles]

Yea, that formula would work.

You can also try to understand the reasoning. If Drug A saves 51% and Drug B saves 50% of patients, then an additional 1% are saved....That means you need to treat 100 patients to have 1 additional saved. Another way of saying 1% additional are saved is to say 1% fewer die. So you just need to find the differences in percentages, convert the percent number to a decimal (1%=.01)...and then divide 1/.01 or whatever the decimal is that you get.