Prioritizing Variables for Observational Study Design using the Joint Variable Importance Plot.

Observational studies of treatment effects require adjustment for confounding variables. However, causal inference methods typically cannot deliver perfect adjustment on all measured baseline variables, and there is often ambiguity about which variables should be prioritized. Standard prioritization methods based on treatment imbalance alone neglect variables' relationships with the outcome.

Accuracy of diagnostic codes for prenatal opioid exposure and neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome.

Objective: Determine the accuracy of diagnostic codes in identifying Prenatal Opioid Exposure (POE) and Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal Syndrome (NOWS).

Study Design: A cross-sectional study of 374,222 mother-infant dyads with delivery from 01/01/2010 to 12/31/2019. We ascertained maternal diagnostic codes for opioid use during pregnancy and infant diagnostic codes for drug exposure and withdrawal.

Comparing Resource Use in Medical Admissions of Children With Complex Chronic Conditions.

Background: Children with complex chronic conditions (CCCs) utilize a disproportionate share of hospital resources.

Objective: We asked whether some hospitals display a significantly different pattern of resource utilization than others when caring for similar children with CCCs admitted for medical diagnoses.

Research Design: Using Pediatric Health Information System data from 2009 to 2013, we constructed an inpatient Template of 300 children with CCCs, matching these to 300 patients at each hospital, thereby performing a type of direct standardization.

Comparing International and United States Undergraduate Medical Education and Surgical Outcomes Using a Refined Balance Matching Methodology.

Objective: The aim of this study is to compare surgical outcomes of international medical graduates (IMGs) and United States medical graduates (USMGs).

Summary Of Background Data: IMGs represent 15% of practicing surgeons in the United States (US), and their training pathways often differ substantially from USMGs. To date, differences in the clinical outcomes between the 2 cohorts have not been examined.

Large, Sparse Optimal Matching with Refined Covariate Balance in an Observational Study of the Health Outcomes Produced by New Surgeons.

Every newly trained surgeon performs her first unsupervised operation. How do the health outcomes of her patients compare with the patients of experienced surgeons? Using data from 498 hospitals, we compare 1252 pairs comprised of a new surgeon and an experienced surgeon working at the same hospital. We introduce a new form of matching that matches patients of each new surgeon to patients of an otherwise similar experienced surgeon at the same hospital, perfectly balancing 176 surgical procedures and closely balancing a total of 2.

Variable-ratio matching with fine balance in a study of the Peer Health Exchange.

In some observational studies of treatment effects, matched samples are created so treated and control groups are similar in terms of observable covariates. Traditionally, such matched samples consist of matched pairs. However, alternative forms of matching may have desirable features.

GRFT - Genetic Records Family Tree Web Applet.

Current software for storing and displaying records of genetic crosses does not provide an easy way to determine the lineage of an individual. The genetic records family tree (GRFT) applet processes records of genetic crosses and allows researchers to quickly visualize lineages using a family tree construct and to access other information from these records using any Internet browser. Users select from three display features: (1) a family tree view which displays a color-coded family tree for an individual, (2) a sequential list of crosses, and (3) a list of crosses matching user-defined search criteria.