Comparison of efficacy of needle-free injection versus injection by needle for iron supplementation of piglets: a double blind randomized controlled trial

Table 3 Difference in means and 95% confidence interval (95% CI) between three iron supplementation methods (Needle-Free injection, injection by needle and no treatment) in course of time on the level of Hb (mmol/L), derived from the multivariate model

Model parameter	Time point	Effect estimate	95% CI
		(mmol/L)	Lower limit	Upper limit
Mean Hb of control group	On day 3	5.41	5.10	5.72
Effect of time	Day 14	− 0.17	− 0.52	0.18
	Day 26	0.48^a	0.13	0.83
	Day 40	0.60^a	0.25	0.95
Additional effects (difference between means) of group at time points relative to the same time point of the Control group
Needle group	On day 3	− 0.16	− 0.52	0.20
	Day 14	1.49^b	1.13	1.85
	Day 26	1.43^b	1.07	1.80
	Day 40	0.46^b	0.10	0.83
Needle-free group	On day 3	− 0.46^c	− 0.83	− 0.10
	Day 14	1.40^b	1.03	1.76
	Day 26	1.38^b	1.01	1.74
	Day 40	0.37^b	0.00	0.73

If a confidence interval includes the 0 value there is no significant difference between group means. In this model significant effects of time (^a) and group (^b) are observed on Hb. ^cThe Needle-Free group had a slightly lower Hb on day3 compared to the Control group

ISSN: 2055-5660