Department of Biostatistics, Yale University School of Public Health, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.
Yale Center for Analytical Sciences, Yale University School of Public Health, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.
Stat Med. 2022 Oct 30;41(24):4860-4885. doi: 10.1002/sim.9541. Epub 2022 Jul 31.
A primary focus of current methods for cluster randomized trials (CRTs) has been for continuous, binary, and count outcomes, with relatively less attention given to right-censored, time-to-event outcomes. In this article, we detail considerations for sample size requirement and statistical inference in CRTs with time-to-event outcomes when the intervention effect parameter is specified through the additive hazards mixed model (AHMM), which includes a frailty term to explicitly account for the dependency between the failure times. First, we discuss improved inference for the treatment effect parameter via bias-corrected sandwich variance estimators and randomization-based test under AHMM, addressing potential small-sample biases in CRTs. Next, we derive a new sample size formula for AHMM analysis of CRTs accommodating both equal and unequal cluster sizes. When the cluster sizes vary, our sample size formula depends on the mean and coefficient of variation of cluster sizes, based on which we articulate the impact of cluster size variation in CRTs with time-to-event outcomes. Furthermore, we obtain the insight that the classical variance inflation factor for CRTs with a non-censored outcome can in fact apply to CRTs with a time-to-event outcome, providing that an appropriate definition of the intraclass correlation coefficient is considered under AHMM. Simulation studies are carried out to illustrate key design and analysis considerations in CRTs with a small to moderate number of clusters. The proposed sample size procedure and analytical methods are further illustrated using the context of the STrategies to Reduce Injuries and Develop Confidence in Elders CRT.
目前群组随机试验(CRT)的主要关注点一直是连续、二分类和计数结果,而对右删失、生存时间结果的关注相对较少。在本文中,我们详细讨论了当干预效果参数通过加性风险混合模型(AHMM)指定时,具有生存时间结果的 CRT 的样本量要求和统计推断,该模型包含一个脆弱性项,以明确考虑失败时间之间的依赖性。首先,我们讨论了通过 AHMM 中的偏差校正夹层方差估计量和基于随机化的检验来改进对治疗效果参数的推断,解决 CRT 中潜在的小样本偏差问题。接下来,我们推导出了一种新的用于 AHMM 分析 CRT 的样本量公式,同时考虑了相等和不相等的群组大小。当群组大小不同时,我们的样本量公式取决于群组大小的均值和变异系数,在此基础上,我们阐明了生存时间结果的 CRT 中群组大小变化的影响。此外,我们得到的启示是,对于无删失结果的 CRT,经典的方差膨胀因子实际上可以适用于生存时间结果的 CRT,前提是在 AHMM 下考虑了适当的组内相关系数定义。模拟研究说明了具有少量到中等数量群组的 CRT 的关键设计和分析考虑因素。进一步使用 STrategies to Reduce Injuries and Develop Confidence in Elders CRT 的背景来说明建议的样本量程序和分析方法。