Use of Distance Function in Sequential Treatment Assignment for Prognostic Factors in the Controlled Clinical Trial

Abstract

In controlled clinical trials, the treatments are likely to be influenced by various prognostic factors, and while assigning treatments sequentially to the patients it is desirable to allot the treatments in such a way that the treatments are balanced over the main effects of prognostic factors and also on some or all interactions between the prognostic factors if the interactions are present. Efran (1971), Pocock and Simon (1975) and Freedman and White (1976) described some methods of balancing the treatments over the prognostic factors. In this paper, we shall describe a new approach in assigning the treatments using multivariate methods.