An estimated dose can look precise when stated to two decimal places. In a dose-finding study, the part of the response curve being estimated matters more than the formatting of the number.
The study enrolled 60 patients receiving alfentanil with remimazolam for hysteroscopy. The investigators defined the desired response as absence of coughing, swallowing and body movement. The modeled dose per kilogram of total body weight associated with that response in 50% of patients was 9.71 micrograms in the group with obesity and 13.67 micrograms in the normal-weight group. The modeled 95% response dose in the group with obesity was 12.57 micrograms per kilogram, with a 95% confidence interval from 10.92 to 28.28.
The investigators formally compared ED50 values but did not perform a formal ED95 comparison. A model-based estimate near the high-response end of the curve carries more uncertainty here. It is tied to the study’s response definition, population and remimazolam regimen. Quoting the ED95 as a precise threshold for another procedure would discard the most important information in the estimate.