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Peter Cummings, MD, MPH

Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2007;161(5):518-519.

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

The ARCHIVES has published 2 randomized trials of duct tape therapy for warts.^1-2 A commentary³ regarding the most recent of these trials² pointed out that confidence intervals for the size of the treatment effect were not given in the results. The commentary³ provided confidence intervals in a table, but these were intervals for the observed outcome proportions in each trial arm, not intervals for the estimated effect of treatment.

Any study that compares 2 or more groups should calculate statistics that compare the group outcomes, along with estimates of precision for those comparisons, such as confidence intervals. This advice is given by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors⁴ and by the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials guidelines for the reporting of randomized controlled trials.⁵ The ARCHIVES recommends the use of point estimates and confidence intervals in its instructions to authors⁶ and has endorsed . . . [Full Text of this Article]

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