Misplaced Confidence in Observed Power
A recently published randomized controlled trial in JAMA investigated the impact of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, escitalopram, on the risk of major adverse events (MACE). The authors estimated a hazard ratio (HR) of 0.69 and further calculated how much statistical power their test had, using this to assess how reliable their results were. Here, we discuss why this approach is highly misleading.