Emulating a trial of joint dynamic strategies: An application to monitoring and treatment of HIV-positive individuals.

ABSTRACT: Decisions about when to start or switch a therapy often depend on the frequency with which individuals are monitored or tested. For example, the optimal time to switch antiretroviral therapy depends on the frequency with which HIV-positive individuals have HIV RNA measured. This paper describes an approach to use observational data for the comparison of joint monitoring and treatment strategies and applies the method to a clinically relevant question in HIV research: when can monitoring frequency be decreased and when should individuals switch from a first-line treatment regimen to a new regimen? We outline the target trial that would compare the dynamic strategies of interest and then describe how to emulate it using data from HIV-positive individuals included in the HIV-CAUSAL Collaborat

SUBMITTER: Caniglia EC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6499640 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature