Basics of Statistics for Clinical Research in Hand Surgery

Abstract

Statistics, the science of numerical evaluation, helps in determining the real value of a hand surgical intervention. Clinical research in hand surgery cannot improve without considering the application of the most appropriate statistical procedures. The purpose of the present paper is to approach the basics of data analysis using a database of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) to understand the data matrix, the generation of variables, the descriptive statistics, the most appropriate statistical tests based on how data were collected, the parameter estimation (inference statistics) with p-value or confidence interval, and, finally, the important concept of generalized linear models (GLMs) or regression analysis.

Resumen

La “Estadística” es la ciencia de la evaluación numérica que nos permite determinar el valor real de las intervenciones quirúrgicas. La Investigación Clínica en Cirugía de la mano no puede mejorar sin considerar la correcta aplicación de los test estadísticos. El objetivo del presente trabajo de actualización es abordar los principios de los análisis estadísticos usando una base de síndrome de túnel carpiano (STC) para entender la matriz de datos, la generación de variables, la estadística descriptiva, los test más apropiados en base a como han sido recolectada la información, la estimación de parámetros (inferencia estadística) mediante valores “p” o intervalos de confianza, y finalmente, la introducción de los conceptos de “Modelos L ineales Generalizados”.

Keywords

clinical research - statistic - carpal tunnel syndrome - methodology - hand

Palabras clave

investigación clínica - estadística - síndrome del túnel carpiano - metodología - mano

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