A comparative study of several antibiotic formulations using a design based on a combination of balanced incomplete...

A practical application of an experimental design, suitable for the comparison of several treatments, and based on combining balanced incomplete blocks and Latin squares balanced for carryover effects, is presented in the context of comparing a number of paediatric antibiotic formulations for taste, smell and colour. The recommended designs originally suggested by Patterson, have the advantage of balanced incomplete blocks, in that a single trial may be used to compare a larger number of treatments than may reasonably be given to any individual subject. In addition, the incorporation of suitably chosen Latin squares allows for assessment of any effect of order of presentation of the treatments and for any simple first-order carryover effect of one treatment into the following treatment period. Inclusion of such effects in the overall analysis could result in the reduction of bias in the comparisons of the treatments.