= Treatment contamination
<Treatment contamination> occurs when participants in one arm of a <randomized controlled trial> receive an <intervention> assigned to another arm. This is distinct from <contamination (statistics)> in robust estimation. The <intention-to-treat analysis> still compares randomized assignments, but <intervention> receipt becomes less separated between the arms, often diluting the assignment effect. Receipt-based comparisons can introduce <confounding> because receipt need not be randomized.
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