David Guy1,2, Igor Karp1, Piotr Wilk1, Joseph Chin3, George Rodrigues1,2. 1. Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University, London, ON N6A 3K7, Canada. 2. Department of Radiation Oncology, London Health Sciences Centre, London, ON N6A 5W9, Canada. 3. Department of Urology, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University, London, ON N6A 3K7, Canada.
Abstract
Aim & methods: We compared propensity score matching (PSM) and coarsened exact matching (CEM) in balancing baseline characteristics between treatment groups using observational data obtained from a pan-Canadian prostate cancer radiotherapy database. Changes in effect estimates were evaluated as a function of improvements in balance, using results from randomized clinical trials to guide interpretation. Results: CEM and PSM improved balance between groups in both comparisons, while retaining the majority of original data. Improvements in balance were associated with effect estimates closer to those obtained in randomized clinical trials. Conclusion: CEM and PSM led to substantial improvements in balance between comparison groups, while retaining a considerable proportion of original data. This could lead to improved accuracy in effect estimates obtained using observational data in a variety of clinical situations.
Aim & methods: We compared propensity score matching (PSM) and coarsened exact matching (CEM) in balancing baseline characteristics between treatment groups using observational data obtained from a pan-Canadian prostate cancer radiotherapy database. Changes in effect estimates were evaluated as a function of improvements in balance, using results from randomized clinical trials to guide interpretation. Results: CEM and PSM improved balance between groups in both comparisons, while retaining the majority of original data. Improvements in balance were associated with effect estimates closer to those obtained in randomized clinical trials. Conclusion: CEM and PSM led to substantial improvements in balance between comparison groups, while retaining a considerable proportion of original data. This could lead to improved accuracy in effect estimates obtained using observational data in a variety of clinical situations.
Authors: Ali S Farooqi; Austin J Borja; Donald K E D Detchou; Gregory Glauser; Krista Strouz; Scott D McClintock; Neil R Malhotra Journal: Int J Spine Surg Date: 2022-05-25