Calculating the power of a planned individual participant data meta-analysis to examine prognostic factor effects for a binary outcome.

Collecting data for an individual participant data meta-analysis (IPDMA) project can be time consuming and resource intensive and could still have insufficient power to answer the question of interest. Therefore, researchers should consider the power of their planned IPDMA before collecting IPD. Here we propose a method to estimate the power of a planned IPDMA project aiming to synthesise multiple cohort studies to investigate the (unadjusted or adjusted) effects of potential prognostic factors for a binary outcome.

Risk of adverse outcomes during gabapentinoid therapy and factors associated with increased risk in UK primary care using the clinical practice research datalink: a cohort study.

Growing evidence from pharmacovigilance data and postmortem toxicology reports highlights the misuse potential of gabapentinoids. This study aimed to investigate the risk of serious adverse outcomes (drug misuse, overdose, major trauma), and their risk factors, in primary care patients who are prescribed gabapentinoids. Using the UK Clinical Practice Research Datalink, a matched cohort study calculated adverse event rates separately for gabapentinoid-exposed and unexposed cohorts.

Prognostic factors for colchicine prophylaxis-related adverse events when initiating allopurinol for gout: retrospective cohort study.

Objectives: Colchicine is commonly used to prevent flares when starting urate-lowering therapy for gout. Patients with gout are frequently concurrently prescribed other medications (such as statins) that may interact with colchicine, increasing the risk of adverse events. The aim of this study was to describe potential prognostic factors for adverse events in patients prescribed colchicine when initiating allopurinol.

Prediction model protocols indicate better adherence to recommended guidelines for study conduct and reporting.

Background And Objective: Protocols are invaluable documents for any research study, especially for prediction model studies. However, the mere existence of a protocol is insufficient if key details are omitted. We reviewed the reporting content and details of the proposed design and methods reported in published protocols for prediction model research.

'My doctor just called me a good girl and I died a bit inside': From everyday misogyny to obstetric violence in UK fertility and maternity services.

This paper begins with the common phrase 'good girl' as a lens through which to explore the insidious nature of patronising and paternalistic language on women's agency in obstetric care. Here we see how misogynistic language is both violence against women in its own right, and serves to create a context in which more extreme obstetric violence can be precipitated. Based on thematic analysis of discussion on Mumsnet, and on contributions to a research-focused Facebook group, this paper illustrates the complexity of recognising and refuting misogyny as a female patient as well as the damage that can occur from a cultural context in which this language is normalised.

Open science practices need substantial improvement in prognostic model studies in oncology using machine learning.

Objective: To describe the frequency of open science practices in a contemporary sample of studies developing prognostic models using machine learning methods in the field of oncology.

Study Design And Setting: We conducted a systematic review, searching the MEDLINE database between December 1, 2022, and December 31, 2022, for studies developing a multivariable prognostic model using machine learning methods (as defined by the authors) in oncology. Two authors independently screened records and extracted open science practices.

Safety of colchicine and NSAID prophylaxis when initiating urate-lowering therapy for gout: propensity score-matched cohort studies in the UK Clinical Practice Research Datalink.

Objectives: To determine the risk of adverse events associated with colchicine or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) prophylaxis when initiating allopurinol for gout.

Methods: We conducted two matched retrospective cohort studies in linked UK Clinical Practice Research Datalink and Hospital Episode Statistics datasets. Adults initiating allopurinol for gout with (1) colchicine or (2) NSAID prophylaxis were compared with those initiating without prophylaxis, individually matched by age, sex and propensity to receive the relevant prophylaxis.

Calculating the power of a planned individual participant data meta-analysis of randomised trials to examine a treatment-covariate interaction with a time-to-event outcome.

Before embarking on an individual participant data meta-analysis (IPDMA) project, researchers should consider the power of their planned IPDMA conditional on the studies promising their IPD and their characteristics. Such power estimates help inform whether the IPDMA project is worth the time and funding investment, before IPD are collected. Here, we suggest how to estimate the power of a planned IPDMA of randomised trials aiming to examine treatment-covariate interactions at the participant-level (i.

Trends in gabapentinoid prescribing in UK primary care using the Clinical Practice Research Datalink: an observational study.

Background: The UK government reclassified gabapentin and pregabalin as 'controlled drugs' from April 2019. This study aimed to describe the trends in gabapentinoid prescribing before and immediately after reclassification, in the UK Clinical Practice Research Datalink, an electronic primary care health record broadly representative of the UK.

Methods: Separately for gabapentin and pregabalin, we calculated annual incident and prevalent prescribing rates from year of UK approval (April 1997 and 2004 respectively) to September 2019, and monthly incident and prevalent prescribing rates (October 2017-September 2019).

Media reporting on alcohol and other drugs in Australia and the Mindframe guidelines: Baseline data.

Introduction: The aim of this study was to generate a baseline database of print media reporting on alcohol and other drug (AOD) issues prior to the release of the Mindframe guidelines in March 2019. Specifically, to: (i) describe the content associated with media entries that focus on AOD use in Australian news media; (ii) determine how the media entries compare to several domains associated with recently developed Mindframe guidelines for publicly reporting on AOD; and (iii) identify content factors associated with different scores.

Methods: Media entries between July 2016 and June 2017 were searched for key AOD-related terms using the Australian and New Zealand Newsstream database.

Rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, and axial spondyloarthritis epidemiology in England from 2004 to 2020: An observational study using primary care electronic health record data.

Background: Contemporary data on rheumatoid arthritis (RA), psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and axial spondyloarthritits (SpA) epidemiology in England are lacking. This knowledge is crucial to planning healthcare services. We updated algorithms defining patients with diagnoses of RA, PsA, and axial SpA in primary care and applied them to describe their incidence and prevalence in the Clinical Practice Research Datalink Aurum, an electronic health record (EHR) database covering ∼20% of England.

Calculating the power to examine treatment-covariate interactions when planning an individual participant data meta-analysis of randomized trials with a binary outcome.

Before embarking on an individual participant data meta-analysis (IPDMA) project, researchers and funders need assurance it is worth their time and cost. This should include consideration of how many studies are promising their IPD and, given the characteristics of these studies, the power of an IPDMA including them. Here, we show how to estimate the power of a planned IPDMA of randomized trials to examine treatment-covariate interactions at the participant level (ie, treatment effect modifiers).

Penalization and shrinkage methods produced unreliable clinical prediction models especially when sample size was small.

Objectives: When developing a clinical prediction model, penalization techniques are recommended to address overfitting, as they shrink predictor effect estimates toward the null and reduce mean-square prediction error in new individuals. However, shrinkage and penalty terms ('tuning parameters') are estimated with uncertainty from the development data set. We examined the magnitude of this uncertainty and the subsequent impact on prediction model performance.

The 'present-tense' experience of failure in the university: Reflections from an action research project.

This article reflects on insights from an action research project where we worked with students whose university experience was inhibited by the fear of failure. In contrast to the popular concept of 'learning from failure', which involves intellectualizing the experience and distancing ourselves from it, our findings demonstrate the importance of a 'present tense' focus on emotions and affects in order to understand the experience of failure for students. Doing so brings us face-to-face with the often painful experience of failure in the present moment which, we argue, is an important and valid part of the university experience.

Rheumatic Conditions as Risk Factors for Self-Harm: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

Objective: To examine the risk of self-harm in rheumatic conditions.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study using data from the Clinical Practice Research Datalink. Patients with ankylosing spondylitis, fibromyalgia, osteoarthritis, or rheumatoid arthritis were identified from 1990 to 2016 and matched to patients without these conditions.

Interstitial lung disease is a risk factor for ischaemic heart disease and myocardial infarction.

Objectives: Despite many shared risk factors and pathophysiological pathways, the risk of ischaemic heart disease (IHD) and myocardial infarction (MI) in interstitial lung disease (ILD) remains poorly understood. This lack of data could be preventing patients who may benefit from screening for these cardiovascular diseases from receiving it.

Methods: A population-based cohort study used electronic patient records from the Clinical Practice Research Datalink and linked Hospital Episode Statistics to identify 68 572 patients (11 688 ILD exposed (mean follow-up: 3.

Longitudinal clusters of pain and stiffness in polymyalgia rheumatica: 2-year results from the PMR Cohort Study.

Objectives: To investigate potential subgroups of primary care-diagnosed patients with PMR based on self-reported pain and stiffness severity over time.

Methods: A total of 652 people with an incident PMR diagnosis were recruited from English general practices and completed a baseline postal questionnaire. They were followed up with a further six questionnaires over a 2 year period.

Plantar heel pain in middle-aged and older adults: population prevalence, associations with health status and lifestyle factors, and frequency of healthcare use.

Background: The objectives of this study were to estimate the population prevalence and distribution of plantar heel pain in mid-to-older age groups, examine associations with selected health status and lifestyle factors, and report the frequency of healthcare use.

Methods: Adults aged ≥50 years registered with four general practices were mailed a health survey (n = 5109 responders). Plantar heel pain in the last month was defined by self-reported shading on a foot manikin, and was defined as disabling if at least one of the function items of the Manchester Foot Pain and Disability Index were also reported.

Venous thromboembolism in patients with gout and the impact of hospital admission, disease duration and urate-lowering therapy.

Background: Systemic inflammatory diseases have been associated with increased risk of venous thromboembolism. We aimed to quantify the risk of venous thromboembolism in patients with gout, the most common inflammatory arthritis, and to assess how disease duration, hospital admission and urate-lowering therapy affect this risk.

Methods: We used data from the population-representative, England-based Clinical Practice Research Datalink linked to Hospital Episode Statistics, to identify incident gout cases between 1998 and 2017.

First-trimester ultrasound measurements and maternal serum biomarkers as prognostic factors in monochorionic twins: a cohort study.

Background: Monochorionic twin pregnancies are at high risk of adverse outcomes, but it is not possible to predict which pregnancies will develop complications. The aim of the study was to evaluate, in monochorionic twin pregnancies, whether first-trimester ultrasound (nuchal translucency [NT], crown-rump length [CRL]), and maternal serum biomarkers (alpha-fetoprotein [AFP], soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase-1 [sFlt-1] and placental growth factor [PlGF]), are prognostic factors for fetal adverse outcome composite, twin-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS), growth restriction, and intrauterine fetal death (IUFD).

Methods: A cohort study of 177 monochorionic diamniotic twin pregnancies.

How do UK physiotherapists address weight loss among individuals with hip osteoarthritis? A mixed-methods study.

Background: Weight loss is recommended as a core treatment for individuals with hip osteoarthritis who are overweight or obese. Physiotherapists play an important role in managing patients with hip osteoarthritis, but little is known about how they address weight. We aimed to explore how UK-based physiotherapists currently address weight loss among individuals with hip OA.

Risk of chronic kidney disease in patients with gout and the impact of urate lowering therapy: a population-based cohort study.

Background: An association between gout and renal disease is well-recognised but few studies have examined whether gout is a risk factor for subsequent chronic kidney disease (CKD). Additionally, the impact of urate-lowering therapy (ULT) on development of CKD in gout is unclear. The objective of this study was to quantify the risk of CKD stage ≥ 3 in people with gout and the impact of ULT.