Letter to the Editor in Response to: Successful Treatment of Early Presenting Intussusception With a Single Dose of Corticosteroid: A Prospective Randomised Controlled Trial by Acer-Demir et al

jpedsurg.org

The authors of this study [1] claim to have performed a prospective randomised trial, with randomisation using the sealed envelope technique. In this technique, each patient has a probability of 0.5 of being randomised to either of the two limbs. 92 patients were randomised, with 60 being allocated to the treatment group and 32 to the control group.

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Article · Apr 2025 · 1 min read

In brief

This letter critiques the randomization methodology in a published trial on corticosteroid treatment for intussusception. The author questions the validity of the sealed envelope technique, noting an unexpected allocation imbalance (60 treatment vs 32 control) that deviates from expected 1:1 randomization.

Randomization imbalance (60 treatment vs 32 control) raises methodological concerns about sealed envelope technique implementation
Expected 1:1 allocation with sealed envelopes; observed 1.875:1 ratio suggests potential randomization protocol deviation
Critical appraisal of randomization methods is essential when evaluating clinical trial validity and internal validity

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