Assumptions made when preparing drug exposure data for analysis have an impact on results: An unreported step in pharmacoepidemiology studies

Autor: Pye, Stephen, Sheppard, Therese, Joseph, Rebecca, Lunt, Mark, Girard, Nadyne, Haas, Jennifer S., Bates, David W, Buckeridge, David L, Van Staa, Tjeerd, Tamblyn, Robyn, Dixon, William
Přispěvatelé: Afd Pharmacoepi & Clinical Pharmacology, Pharmacoepidemiology and Clinical Pharmacology
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2018
Předmět:
Zdroj: Pye, S, Sheppard, T, Joseph, R, Lunt, M, Girard, N, Haas, J S, Bates, D W, Buckeridge, D L, Van Staa, T, Tamblyn, R & Dixon, W 2018, ' Assumptions made when preparing drug exposure data for analysis have an impact on results: an unreported step in pharmacoepidemiology studies ', Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety . https://doi.org/10.1002/pds.4440
DOI: 10.1002/pds.4440
Popis: Purpose: Real-world data for observational research commonly requires formatting and cleaning prior to analysis. Data preparation steps are rarely reported adequately and are likely to vary between research groups. Variation in methodology could potentially affect study outcomes. This study aimed to develop a framework to define and document drug data preparation and to examine the impact of different assumptions on results.Methods: An algorithm for processing prescription data was developed and tested using data from the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD). The impact of varying assumptions was examined by estimating the association between two exemplar medications (oral hypoglycaemic drugs and glucocorticoids) and cardiovascular events after preparing multiple datasets derived from the same source prescription data. Each dataset was analysed using Cox proportional hazards modelling.Results: The algorithm included ten decision nodes and 54 possible unique assumptions. Over 11 000 possible pathways through the algorithm were identified. In both exemplar studies similar hazard ratios and standard errors were found for the majority of pathways; however, certain assumptions had a greater influence on results. For example, in the hypoglycaemic analysis choosing a different variable to define prescription end date altered the hazard ratios (95% confidence intervals) from 1.77 (1.56-2.00) to 2.83 (1.59-5.04).Conclusions: The framework offers a transparent and efficient way to perform and report drug data preparation steps. Assumptions made during data preparation can impact the results of analyses. Improving transparency regarding drug data preparation would increase the repeatability, reproducibility, and comparability of published results.
Databáze: OpenAIRE