2.9. Statistical Methods
SECONDARY
A previous study was used to calculate statistical power [The data were not normally distributed, and due to the small sample sizes, the difference in the primary and secondary outcomes between the 3 groups was analyzed using the Kruskal–Wallis test. To measure within-group differences, the Mann–Whitney U test was used. No adjustment for the number of comparisons was conducted, as all the variables were analyzed independently. Following the CONSORT statement, on-treatment analyses were applied. SPSS version 28.0 was used (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA).