Evidence-appraisal glossary
Win Ratio
A way to compare two groups on several ranked outcomes at once by pairing up patients and deciding who wins on the most important outcome first, then less important ones. The win ratio is wins for treatment divided by wins for control.
Also called: win ratio, hierarchical composite.
When outcomes differ in importance, so that death matters more than hospitalization, which matters more than symptoms, a win-ratio analysis compares each treated patient with each control patient and decides the winner on the highest-priority outcome both can be judged on, moving down the hierarchy only for ties. Summing across all pairs gives a ratio above one when treatment tends to win. This respects clinical priorities better than a plain composite that counts every component equally, and it handles fatal events sensibly. The result depends on the chosen hierarchy and on follow-up length, which readers should check.
This is a plain-language methodology definition for reading research. It is general education, not medical advice.