Target Trial Emulation Using Hospital-Based Observational Data: Demonstration and Application in COVID-19.

ABSTRACT: Methodological biases are common in observational studies evaluating treatment effectiveness. The objective of this study is to emulate a target trial in a competing risks setting using hospital-based observational data. We extend established methodology accounting for immortal time bias and time-fixed confounding biases to a setting where no survival information beyond hospital discharge is available: a condition common to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) research data. This exemplary study includes a cohort of 618 hospitalized patients with COVID-19. We describe methodological opportunities and challenges that cannot be overcome applying traditional statistical methods. We demonstrate the practical implementation of this trial emulation approach via clone-censor-weight techniques. We

SUBMITTER: Martinuka O 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10053871 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature