A clinical trial randomizes 50 hypertensive patients to drug A and 50 to drug B. Mean SBP reduction was 12 mmHg (SD 8) vs 9 mmHg (SD 10). The appropriate test to compare these means is:

• A Paired t-test
• B Chi-square test
• C Mann-Whitney U test
• D Unpaired (independent samples) t-test ✓

Explanation

An unpaired (independent samples) t-test is used to compare means between two independent groups when data is continuous and approximately normally distributed. The paired t-test is used when the same individuals are measured twice (before-after or matched design). Chi-square is for categorical data. Mann-Whitney U is a non-parametric alternative used when data is non-normally distributed or ordinal — since SDs are given and the sample sizes are adequate for the Central Limit Theorem, unpaired t-test is appropriate.

Reference: Park's Textbook of Preventive and Social Medicine, 27th ed.

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