The probability that the maximum permitted correction is sufficient should be specified according to understood bias.
The approach advocated in this paper involves the assessment of the probability that the true shift in the relevant confidence bound is less than the maximum permitted correction.
This difference represents the maximum permitted correction (MPC) to the interval boundary that would still leave the interval excluding the focal value.
MCSA = Monte Carlo sensitivity analysis CI = confidence interval RR = risk ratio OR = odds ratio log = natural logarithm RD = risk difference NNT = number needed to treat MPC = maximum permitted correction The author(s) declare that they have no competing interests.
After presenting a motivational example, we derive the maximum permitted correction in the general case and for risk ratios and risk differences, and describe an application to a meta analysis of air versus oxygen resuscitation treatment in newborn infants.
Thus, if it is likely that at least 3 of the 20 apparently diseased exposed individuals have been misclassified, it is likely that the shift required in the CI boundary is more than the maximum permitted correction: the null value would then be compatible with the data.
