Introduction to Regression Discontinuity Design.

Abstract

It is common clinical practice for physicians to refer to specific diagnostic criteria for day-to-day decision-making. In particular, whether or not to provide a particular treatment is often determined by the cutoff value of a relevant diagnostic marker. Regression discontinuity design (RDD) is a method for evaluating scenarios where intervention is determined by the certain cutoff value (e.g., threshold) of a continuous variable. RDD represents a powerful method for assessing intervention effects and outcomes. RDD is underutilized in clinical research and there are many opportunities to apply RDD in this setting. This article introduces the principles of RDD and provides examples of clinical studies that have used this design.