A fiducial approach for testing the non‐inferiority of proportion difference in matched‐pairs design

Abstract

The non‐inferiority of one treatment/drug to another is a common and important issue in medical and pharmaceutical fields. This study explored a fiducial approach for testing the non‐inferiority of proportion difference in matched‐pairs design. Approximate tests constructed using fiducial quantities with a combination of different parameters were proposed. Four simulation studies were employed to compare the performance of fiducial tests by comparing their type I errors and powers. The results showed that fiducial quantities with parameter 0.6≤w1≤0.8 performed satisfactorily from small to large samples. Therefore, the fiducial tests could be recommended for practical applications. The recommended fiducial tests might be a competitive alternative to other available tests. Three real data sets were analyzed to illustrate the proposed methods were competitive or even better than other tests.