Exclusion criteria

Exclusion criteria define the patient characteristics that should not be included in a study

When choosing exclusion criteria in a research study, "statistical noise" associated with members outside of the population of interest can be deterred. These types of individuals are often at risk of being lost to follow-up, do not possess characteristics central to the research question and investigation, or may be at risk of adverse side effects as a result of treatment. It is good to have as few exclusion criteria as possible so as to not miss out on the diversity associated with human populations.
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Exclusion criteria are used to describe the population of interest in research. Exclusion criteria should be objectively and explicitly defined in terms of demographic, prognostic, and clinical factors. People that could be lost to follow-up and have adverse side effects should be part of the exclusion criteria.