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Haguinet F, Tibaldi F, Dessart C, Bate A. Tree-temporal scan statistics for safety signal detection in vaccine clinical trials. Pharm Stat 2024. [PMID: 38622834 DOI: 10.1002/pst.2391] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2022] [Revised: 02/02/2024] [Accepted: 03/25/2024] [Indexed: 04/17/2024]
Abstract
The evaluation of safety is critical in all clinical trials. However, the quantitative analysis of safety data in clinical trials poses statistical difficulties because of multiple potentially overlapping endpoints. Tree-temporal scan statistic approaches address this issue and have been widely employed in other data sources, but not to date in clinical trials. We evaluated the performance of three complementary scan statistical methods for routine quantitative safety signal detection: the self-controlled tree-temporal scan (SCTTS), a tree-temporal scan based on group comparison (BGTTS), and a log-rank based tree-temporal scan (LgRTTS). Each method was evaluated using data from two phase III clinical trials, and simulated data (simulation study). In the case study, the reference set was adverse events (AEs) in the Reference Safety Information of the evaluated vaccine. The SCTTS method had higher sensitivity than other methods, and after dose 1 detected 80 true positives (TP) with a positive predictive value (PPV) of 60%. The LgRTTS detected 49 TPs with 69% PPV. The BGTTS had 90% of PPV with 38 TPs. In the simulation study, with simulated reference sets of AEs, the SCTTS method had good sensitivity to detect transient effects. The LgRTTS method showed the best performance for the detection of persistent effects, with high sensitivity and expected probability of type I error. These three methods provide complementary approaches to safety signal detection in clinical trials or across clinical development programmes. All three methods formally adjust for multiple testing of large numbers of overlapping endpoints without being excessively conservative.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Andrew Bate
- Global Safety, GSK, Middlesex, UK
- Department of Non-Communicable Disease Epidemiology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK
- Department of Medicine, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York, New York, USA
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Heo SJ, Jeong S, Jung D, Jung I. Signal detection statistics of adverse drug events in hierarchical structure for matched case-control data. Biostatistics 2023:kxad029. [PMID: 37886808 DOI: 10.1093/biostatistics/kxad029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2022] [Revised: 10/04/2023] [Accepted: 10/06/2023] [Indexed: 10/28/2023] Open
Abstract
The tree-based scan statistic is a data mining method used to identify signals of adverse drug reactions in a database of spontaneous reporting systems. It is particularly beneficial when dealing with hierarchical data structures. One may use a retrospective case-control study design from spontaneous reporting systems (SRS) to investigate whether a specific adverse event of interest is associated with certain drugs. However, the existing Bernoulli model of the tree-based scan statistic may not be suitable as it fails to adequately account for dependencies within matched pairs. In this article, we propose signal detection statistics for matched case-control data based on McNemar's test, Wald test for conditional logistic regression, and the likelihood ratio test for a multinomial distribution. Through simulation studies, we demonstrate that our proposed methods outperform the existing approach in terms of the type I error rate, power, sensitivity, and false detection rate. To illustrate our proposed approach, we applied the three methods and the existing method to detect drug signals for dizziness-related adverse events related to antihypertensive drugs using the database of the Korea Adverse Event Reporting System.
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Affiliation(s)
- Seok-Jae Heo
- Division of Biostatistics, Department of Biomedical Systems Informatics, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul 03722, Korea
| | - Sohee Jeong
- Division of Biostatistics, Department of Biomedical Systems Informatics, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul 03722, Korea
| | - Dagyeom Jung
- Division of Biostatistics, Department of Biomedical Systems Informatics, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul 03722, Korea
| | - Inkyung Jung
- Division of Biostatistics, Department of Biomedical Systems Informatics, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul 03722, Korea
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Jeong NY, Kim CJ, Park SM, Kim YJ, Lee J, Choi NK. Active surveillance for adverse events of influenza vaccine safety in elderly cancer patients using self-controlled tree-temporal scan statistic analysis. Sci Rep 2023; 13:13346. [PMID: 37587127 PMCID: PMC10432531 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-40091-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2023] [Accepted: 08/04/2023] [Indexed: 08/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Both cancer patients and the elderly are at high risk of developing flu complications, so influenza vaccination is recommended. We aimed to evaluate potential adverse events (AEs) following influenza vaccination in elderly cancer patients using the self-controlled tree-temporal scan statistic method. From a large linked database of Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency vaccination data and the National Health Insurance Service claims data, we identified cancer patients aged over 65 who received flu vaccines during the 2016/2017 and 2017/2018 seasons. We included all the outcomes occurring on 1-84 days post-vaccination and evaluated all temporal risk windows, which started 1-28 days and ended 2-42 days. Patients who were diagnosed with the same disease during a year prior to vaccination were excluded. We used the hierarchy of ICD-10 to identify statistically significant clustering. This study included 431,276 doses of flu vaccine. We detected signals for 1 set: other dorsopathies on 1-15 days (attributable risk 16.5 per 100,000, P = 0.017). Dorsopathy is a known AE of influenza vaccine. No statistically significant clusters were found when analyzed by flu season. Therefore, influenza vaccination is more recommended for elderly patients with cancer and weakened immune systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Na-Young Jeong
- Department of Health Convergence, College of Science & Industry Convergence, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, Korea
| | - Chung-Jong Kim
- Department of Internal Medicine, Ewha Womans University Seoul Hospital, Seoul, Korea
| | - Sang Min Park
- Department of Family Medicine, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Korea
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Seoul National University Graduate School, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
| | - Ye-Jee Kim
- Department of Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
| | - Joongyub Lee
- Department of Preventive Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
| | - Nam-Kyong Choi
- Department of Health Convergence, College of Science & Industry Convergence, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, Korea.
- Graduate School of Industrial Pharmaceutical Science, College of Pharmacy, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, Korea.
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Suarez EA, Nguyen M, Zhang D, Zhao Y, Stojanovic D, Munoz M, Liedtka J, Anderson A, Liu W, Dashevsky I, Cole D, DeLuccia S, Menzin T, Noble J, Maro JC. Novel methods for pregnancy drug safety surveillance in the FDA Sentinel System. Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf 2023; 32:126-136. [PMID: 35871766 DOI: 10.1002/pds.5512] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2022] [Revised: 07/14/2022] [Accepted: 07/21/2022] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE It is a priority of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to monitor the safety of medications used during pregnancy. Pregnancy exposure registries and cohort studies utilizing electronic health record data are primary sources of information but are limited by small sample sizes and limited outcome assessment. TreeScan™, a statistical data mining tool, can be applied within the FDA Sentinel System to simultaneously identify multiple potential adverse neonatal and infant outcomes after maternal medication exposure. METHODS We implemented TreeScan using the Sentinel analytic tools in a cohort of linked live birth deliveries and infants nested in the IBM MarketScan® Research Database. As a case study, we compared first trimester fluoroquinolone use and cephalosporin use. We used the Bernoulli and Poisson TreeScan statistics with compatible propensity score-based study designs for confounding control (matching and stratification) and used multiple propensity score models with various strategies for confounding control to inform best practices. We developed a hierarchical outcome tree including major congenital malformations and outcomes of gestational length and birth weight. RESULTS A total of 1791 fluoroquinolone-exposed and 8739 cephalosporin-exposed mother-infant pairs were eligible for analysis. Both TreeScan analysis methods resulted in single alerts that were deemed to be due to uncontrolled confounding or otherwise not warranting follow-up. CONCLUSIONS In this implementation of TreeScan using Sentinel analytic tools, we did not observe any new safety signals for fluoroquinolone use in the first trimester. TreeScan, with tailored or high-dimensional propensity scores for confounding control, is a valuable tool in addition to current safety surveillance methods for medications used during pregnancy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth A Suarez
- Department of Population Medicine, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Michael Nguyen
- Office of Surveillance and Epidemiology, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, US Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA
| | - Di Zhang
- Office of Biostatistics, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, US Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA
| | - Yueqin Zhao
- Office of Biostatistics, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, US Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA
| | - Danijela Stojanovic
- Office of Surveillance and Epidemiology, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, US Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA
| | - Monica Munoz
- Division of Pharmacovigilance, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, US Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA
| | - Jane Liedtka
- Division of Pediatric and Maternal Health, Center for Drug and Evaluation Research, US Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA
| | - Abby Anderson
- Division of Urology, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Center for Drug and Evaluation Research, US Food and Drug Administration, Beltsville, Maryland, USA
| | - Wei Liu
- Division of Epidemiology, Center for Drug and Evaluation Research, US Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA
| | - Inna Dashevsky
- Department of Population Medicine, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - David Cole
- Department of Population Medicine, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Sandra DeLuccia
- Department of Population Medicine, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Talia Menzin
- Department of Population Medicine, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Jennifer Noble
- Department of Population Medicine, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Judith C Maro
- Department of Population Medicine, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
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Yih WK, Kulldorff M, Dashevsky I, Maro JC. Sequential Data-Mining for Adverse Events After Recombinant Herpes Zoster Vaccination Using the Tree-Based Scan Statistic. Am J Epidemiol 2023; 192:276-282. [PMID: 36227263 DOI: 10.1093/aje/kwac176] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2022] [Revised: 08/13/2022] [Accepted: 10/07/2022] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Tree-based scan statistics have been successfully used to study the safety of several vaccines without prespecifying health outcomes of concern. In this study, the binomial tree-based scan statistic was applied sequentially to detect adverse events in days 1-28 compared with days 29-56 after recombinant herpes zoster (RZV) vaccination, with 5 looks at the data and formal adjustment for the repeated analyses over time. IBM MarketScan data on commercially insured persons ≥50 years of age receiving RZV during January 1, 2018, to May 5, 2020, were used. With 999,876 doses of RZV included, statistically significant signals were detected only for unspecified adverse effects/complications following immunization, with attributable risks as low as 2 excess cases per 100,000 vaccinations. Ninety percent of cases in the signals occurred in the week after vaccination and, based on previous studies, likely represent nonserious events like fever, fatigue, and headache. Strengths of our study include its untargeted nature, self-controlled design, and formal adjustment for repeated testing. Although the method requires prespecification of the risk window of interest and may miss some true signals detectable using the tree-temporal variant of the method, it allows for early detection of potential safety problems through early initiation of ongoing monitoring.
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Hsieh MHC, Liang HY, Tsai CY, Tseng YT, Chao PH, Huang WI, Chen WW, Lin SJ, Lai ECC. A New Drug Safety Signal Detection and Triage System Integrating Sequence Symmetry Analysis and Tree-Based Scan Statistics with Longitudinal Data. Clin Epidemiol 2023; 15:91-107. [PMID: 36699647 PMCID: PMC9868282 DOI: 10.2147/clep.s395922] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2022] [Accepted: 12/14/2022] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Purpose Development and evaluation of a drug-safety signal detection system integrating data-mining tools in longitudinal data is essential. This study aimed to construct a new triage system using longitudinal data for drug-safety signal detection, integrating data-mining tools, and evaluate adaptability of such system. Patients and Methods Based on relevant guidelines and structural frameworks in Taiwan's pharmacovigilance system, we constructed a triage system integrating sequence symmetry analysis (SSA) and tree-based scan statistics (TreeScan) as data-mining tools for detecting safety signals. We conducted an exploratory analysis utilizing Taiwan's National Health Insurance Database and selecting two drug classes (sodium-glucose co-transporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) and non-fluorinated quinolones (NFQ)) as chronic and episodic treatment respectively, as examples to test feasibility of the system. Results Under the proposed system, either cohort-based or self-controlled mining with SSA and TreeScan was selected, based on whether the screened drug had an appropriate comparator. All detected alerts were further classified as known adverse drug reactions (ADRs), events related to other causes or potential signals from the triage algorithm, building on existing drug labels and clinical judgement. Exploratory analysis revealed greater numbers of signals for NFQ with a relatively low proportion of known ADRs; most were related to indication, patient characteristics or bias. No safety signals were found. By contrast, most SGLT2i signals were known ADRs or events related to patient characteristics. Four were potential signals warranting further investigation. Conclusion The proposed system facilitated active and systematic screening to detect and classify potential safety signals. Countries with real-world longitudinal data could adopt it to streamline drug-safety surveillance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miyuki Hsing-Chun Hsieh
- Institute of Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan,Taiwan Drug Relief Foundation (TDRF), Taipei, Taiwan
| | | | | | - Yu-Ting Tseng
- Taiwan Drug Relief Foundation (TDRF), Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Pi-Hui Chao
- Taiwan Drug Relief Foundation (TDRF), Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Wei-I Huang
- Taiwan Drug Relief Foundation (TDRF), Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Wen-Wen Chen
- Taiwan Drug Relief Foundation (TDRF), Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Swu-Jane Lin
- Department of Pharmacy Systems, Outcomes & Policy, College of Pharmacy, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Edward Chia-Cheng Lai
- Institute of Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan,Correspondence: Edward Chia-Cheng Lai, Email
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Yih WK, Daley MF, Duffy J, Fireman B, McClure D, Nelson J, Qian L, Smith N, Vazquez-Benitez G, Weintraub E, Williams JTB, Xu S, Maro JC. A broad assessment of covid-19 vaccine safety using tree-based data-mining in the vaccine safety datalink. Vaccine 2023; 41:826-835. [PMID: 36535825 PMCID: PMC9755007 DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2022.12.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2022] [Revised: 11/18/2022] [Accepted: 12/10/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Except for spontaneous reporting systems, vaccine safety monitoring generally involves pre-specifying health outcomes and post-vaccination risk windows of concern. Instead, we used tree-based data-mining to look more broadly for possible adverse events after Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, and Janssen COVID-19 vaccination. METHODS Vaccine Safety Datalink enrollees receiving ≥1 dose of COVID-19 vaccine in 2020-2021 were followed for 70 days after Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna and 56 days after Janssen vaccination. Incident diagnoses in inpatient or emergency department settings were analyzed for clustering within both the hierarchical ICD-10-CM code structure and the post-vaccination follow-up period. We used the self-controlled tree-temporal scan statistic and TreeScan software. Monte Carlo simulation was used to estimate p-values; p = 0.01 was the pre-specified cut-off for statistical significance of a cluster. RESULTS There were 4.1, 2.6, and 0.4 million Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, and Janssen vaccinees, respectively. Clusters after Pfizer-BioNTech vaccination included: (1) unspecified adverse effects, (2) common vaccine reactions, such as fever, myalgia, and headache, (3) myocarditis/pericarditis, and (4) less specific cardiac or respiratory symptoms, all with the strongest clusters generally after Dose 2; and (5) COVID-19/viral pneumonia/sepsis/respiratory failure in the first 3 weeks after Dose 1. Moderna results were similar but without a significant myocarditis/pericarditis cluster. Further investigation suggested the fifth signal group was a manifestation of mRNA vaccine effectiveness after the first 3 weeks. Janssen vaccinees had clusters of unspecified or common vaccine reactions, gait/mobility abnormalities, and muscle weakness. The latter two were deemed to have arisen from confounding related to practices at one site. CONCLUSIONS We detected post-vaccination clusters of unspecified adverse effects, common vaccine reactions, and, for the mRNA vaccines, chest pain and palpitations, as well as myocarditis/pericarditis after Pfizer-BioNTech Dose 2. Unique advantages of this data mining are its untargeted nature and its inherent adjustment for the multiplicity of diagnoses and risk intervals scanned.
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Affiliation(s)
- W Katherine Yih
- Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute and Department of Population Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | | | - Jonathan Duffy
- Immunization Safety Office, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, United States
| | - Bruce Fireman
- Kaiser Permanente Northern California, Oakland, CA, United States
| | - David McClure
- Marshfield Clinic Research Institute, Marshfield, WI, United States
| | | | - Lei Qian
- Kaiser Permanente Southern California, Pasadena, CA, United States
| | - Ning Smith
- Kaiser Permanente Northwest, Portland, OR, United States
| | | | - Eric Weintraub
- Immunization Safety Office, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, United States
| | | | - Stanley Xu
- Kaiser Permanente Southern California, Pasadena, CA, United States
| | - Judith C Maro
- Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute and Department of Population Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
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Monitoring Drug Safety in Pregnancy with Scan Statistics: A Comparison of Two Study Designs. Epidemiology 2023; 34:90-98. [PMID: 36252086 DOI: 10.1097/ede.0000000000001561] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Traditional surveillance of adverse infant outcomes following maternal medication exposures relies on pregnancy exposure registries, which are often underpowered. We characterize the statistical power of TreeScan, a data mining tool, to identify potential signals in the setting of perinatal medication exposures and infant outcomes. METHODS We used empirical data to inform background incidence of major congenital malformations and other birth conditions. Statistical power was calculated using two probability models compatible with TreeScan, Bernoulli and Poisson, while varying the sample size, magnitude of the risk increase, and incidence of a specified outcome. We also simulated larger referent to exposure matching ratios when using the Bernoulli model in the setting of fixed N:1 propensity score matching. Finally, we assessed the impact of outcome misclassification on power. RESULTS The Poisson model demonstrated greater power to detect signals than the Bernoulli model across all scenarios and suggested a sample size of 4,000 exposed pregnancies is needed to detect a twofold increase in risk of a common outcome (approximately 8 per 1,000) with 85% power. Increasing the fixed matching ratio with the Bernoulli model did not reliably increase power. An outcome definition with high sensitivity is expected to have somewhat greater power to detect signals than an outcome definition with high positive predictive value. CONCLUSIONS Use of the Poisson model with an outcome definition that prioritizes sensitivity may be optimal for signal detection. TreeScan is a viable method for surveillance of adverse infant outcomes following maternal medication use.
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Yih WK, Kulldorff M, Dashevsky I, Maro JC. A Broad Safety Assessment of the Recombinant Herpes Zoster Vaccine. Am J Epidemiol 2022; 191:957-964. [PMID: 35152283 PMCID: PMC9071519 DOI: 10.1093/aje/kwac030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2021] [Revised: 01/25/2022] [Accepted: 02/08/2022] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The recombinant herpes zoster vaccine (RZV), approved as a 2-dose series in the United States in October 2017, has proven highly effective and generally safe. However, a small risk of Guillain-Barré syndrome after vaccination was identified after approval, and questions remain about other possible adverse events. This data-mining study assessed RZV safety in the United States using the self-controlled tree-temporal scan statistic, scanning data on thousands of diagnoses recorded during follow-up to detect any statistically unusual temporal clustering of cases within a large hierarchy of diagnoses. IBM MarketScan data on commercially insured persons at least 50 years of age receiving RZV between January 1, 2018, and May 5, 2020, were used, including 56 days of follow-up; 1,014,329 doses were included. Statistically significant clustering was found within a few days of vaccination for unspecified adverse effects, complications, or reactions to immunization or other medical substances/care; fever; unspecified allergy; syncope/collapse; cellulitis; myalgia; and dizziness/giddiness. These findings are consistent with the known safety profile of this and other injected vaccines. No cluster of Guillain-Barré syndrome was detected, possibly due to insufficient sample size. This signal-detection method has now been applied to 5 vaccines, with consistently plausible results, and seems a promising addition to vaccine-safety evaluation methods.
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Affiliation(s)
- W Katherine Yih
- Correspondence to Dr. W. Katherine Yih, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute, 401 Park Drive, Suite 401 East, Boston, MA 02215 (e-mail: )
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Safety surveillance of varicella vaccine using tree-temporal scan analysis. Vaccine 2021; 39:6378-6384. [PMID: 34561139 DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2021.09.035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2021] [Revised: 08/03/2021] [Accepted: 09/13/2021] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
IMPORTANCE Passive surveillance systems are susceptible to the under-reporting of adverse events (AE) and a lack of information pertaining to vaccinated populations. Conventional active surveillance focuses on predefined AEs. Advanced data mining tools could be used to identify unusual clusters of potential AEs after vaccination. OBJECTIVE To assess the feasibility of a novel tree-based statistical approach to the identification of AE clustering following the implementation of a varicella vaccination program among one-year-olds. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS This nationwide safety surveillance was based on data from the Taiwan National Health Insurance database and National Immunization Information System for the period 2004 through 2014. The study population was children aged 12-35 months who received the varicella vaccine. EXPOSURE First-dose varicella vaccine. OUTCOMES AND MEASURES All incident ICD-9-CM diagnoses (emergency or inpatient departments) occurring 1-56 days after the varicella vaccination were classified within a hierarchical system of diagnosis categories using Multi-Level Clinical Classifications Software. A self-controlled tree-temporal data mining tool was then used to explore the incidence of AE clustering with a variety of potential risk intervals. The comparison interval consisted of days in the 56-day follow-up period that fell outside the risk interval. RESULTS Among 1,194,189 varicella vaccinees with no other same-day vaccinations, nine diagnoses with clustering features were categorized into four safety signals: fever on days 1-6 (attributable risk [AR] 38.5 per 100,000, p < 0.001), gastritis and duodenitis on days 1-2 (AR 5.9 per 100,000, p < 0.001), acute upper respiratory infection on days 1-5 (AR 11.0 per 100,000, p = 0.006), and varicella infection on days 1-9 (AR 2.7 per 100,000, p < 0.001). These safety profiles and their corresponding risk intervals have been identified in previous safety surveillance studies. CONCLUSIONS Unexpected clusters of AEs were not detected after the mass administration of childhood varicella vaccines in Taiwan. The tree-temporal statistical method is a feasible approach to the safety surveillance of vaccines in populations of young children.
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Wang SV, Maro JC, Gagne JJ, Patorno E, Kattinakere S, Stojanovic D, Eworuke E, Baro E, Ouellet-Hellstrom R, Nguyen M, Ma Y, Dashevsky I, Cole D, DeLuccia S, Hansbury A, Pestine E, Kulldorff M. A General Propensity Score for Signal Identification Using Tree-Based Scan Statistics. Am J Epidemiol 2021; 190:1424-1433. [PMID: 33615330 DOI: 10.1093/aje/kwab034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2020] [Revised: 02/08/2021] [Accepted: 02/09/2021] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
The tree-based scan statistic (TreeScan; Martin Kulldorff, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts) is a data-mining method that adjusts for multiple testing of correlated hypotheses when screening thousands of potential adverse events for signal identification. Simulation has demonstrated the promise of TreeScan with a propensity score (PS)-matched cohort design. However, it is unclear which variables to include in a PS for applied signal identification studies to simultaneously adjust for confounding across potential outcomes. We selected 4 pairs of medications with well-understood safety profiles. For each pair, we evaluated 5 candidate PSs with different combinations of 1) predefined general covariates (comorbidity, frailty, utilization), 2) empirically selected (data-driven) covariates, and 3) covariates tailored to the drug pair. For each pair, statistical alerting patterns were similar with alternative PSs (≤11 alerts in 7,996 outcomes scanned). Inclusion of covariates tailored to exposure did not appreciably affect screening results. Inclusion of empirically selected covariates can provide better proxy coverage for confounders but can also decrease statistical power. Unlike tailored covariates, empirical and predefined general covariates can be applied "out of the box" for signal identification. The choice of PS depends on the level of concern about residual confounding versus loss of power. Potential signals should be followed by pharmacoepidemiologic assessment where confounding control is tailored to the specific outcome(s) under investigation.
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Data Mining for Adverse Events of Tumor Necrosis Factor-Alpha Inhibitors in Pediatric Patients: Tree-Based Scan Statistic Analyses of Danish Nationwide Health Data. Clin Drug Investig 2020; 40:1147-1154. [PMID: 33104987 PMCID: PMC7701063 DOI: 10.1007/s40261-020-00977-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/07/2020] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) inhibitors are efficacious and considered generally safe in adults. However, pediatric-specific safety evidence is scarce. The aim of this study was to screen for signals of previously unknown adverse events of TNF-α inhibitors in pediatric patients. METHODS We conducted a data-mining study based on routinely collected, nationwide Danish healthcare data for 2004-2016. Using tree-based scan statistics to identify events with unexpectedly high incidence during TNF-α inhibitor use among patients with inflammatory bowel disease or juvenile idiopathic arthritis, two analyses were performed: comparison with episodes of no use and with other time periods from the same patient. Based on incident physician-assigned diagnosis codes from outpatient and inpatient visits in specialist care, we screened thousands of potential adverse events while adjusting for multiple testing. RESULTS We identified 1310 episodes of new TNF-α inhibitor use that met the eligibility criteria. Two signals of adverse events of TNF-α inhibitors, as compared with no use, were detected. First, there were excess events of dermatologic complications (ICD-10: L00-L99, 87 vs. 44 events, risk difference [RD] 3.3%), which have been described previously in adults and children. Second, there were excess events of psychiatric diagnosis adjustment disorders (ICD-10: F432, 33 vs. 7 events, RD 2.0%), which was likely associated with the underlying disease and its severity, rather than with the treatment. The self-controlled analysis generated no signal. CONCLUSIONS No signals of previously unknown adverse events of TNF-α inhibitors in pediatric patients were detected. The study showed that real-world data and newly developed methods for adverse events data mining can play a particularly important role in pediatrics where pre-approval drug safety data are scarce.
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Wang SV, Kulldorff M, Poor S, Rice DS, Banks A, Li N, Lii J, Gagne JJ. Screening Medications for Association with Progression to Wet Age-Related Macular Degeneration. Ophthalmology 2020; 128:248-255. [PMID: 32777229 DOI: 10.1016/j.ophtha.2020.08.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2020] [Revised: 07/30/2020] [Accepted: 08/03/2020] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
PURPOSE There is an urgent need for treatments that prevent or delay development to advanced age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Drugs already on the market for other conditions could affect progression to neovascular AMD (nAMD). If identified, these drugs could provide insights for drug development targets. The objective of this study was to use a novel data mining method that can simultaneously evaluate thousands of correlated hypotheses, while adjusting for multiple testing, to screen for associations between drugs and delayed progression to nAMD. DESIGN We applied a nested case-control study to administrative insurance claims data to identify cases with nAMD and risk-set sampled controls that were 1:4 variable ratio matched on age, gender, and recent healthcare use. PARTICIPANTS The study population included cases with nAMD and risk set matched controls. METHODS We used a tree-based scanning method to evaluate associations between hierarchical classifications of drugs that patients were exposed to within 6 months, 7 to 24 months, or ever before their index date. The index date was the date of first nAMD diagnosis in cases. Risk-set sampled controls were assigned the same index date as the case to which they were matched. The study was implemented using Medicare data from New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and national data from IBM MarketScan Research Database. We set an a priori threshold for statistical alerting at P ≤ 0.01 and focused on associations with large magnitude (relative risks ≥ 2.0). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Progression to nAMD. RESULTS Of approximately 4000 generic drugs and drug classes evaluated, the method detected 19 distinct drug exposures with statistically significant, large relative risks indicating that cases were less frequently exposed than controls. These included (1) drugs with prior evidence for a causal relationship (e.g., megestrol); (2) drugs without prior evidence for a causal relationship, but potentially worth further exploration (e.g., donepezil, epoetin alfa); (3) drugs with alternative biologic explanations for the association (e.g., sevelamer); and (4) drugs that may have resulted in statistical alerts due to their correlation with drugs that alerted for other reasons. CONCLUSIONS This exploratory drug-screening study identified several potential targets for follow-up studies to further evaluate and determine if they may prevent or delay progression to advanced AMD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shirley V Wang
- Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacoeconomics, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.
| | - Martin Kulldorff
- Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacoeconomics, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Stephen Poor
- Ophthalmology, Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research, Cambridge, Massachusetts
| | - Dennis S Rice
- Ophthalmology, Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research, Cambridge, Massachusetts
| | - Angela Banks
- Ophthalmology, Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research, Cambridge, Massachusetts
| | - Ning Li
- Ophthalmology, Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research, Cambridge, Massachusetts
| | - Joyce Lii
- Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacoeconomics, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Joshua J Gagne
- Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacoeconomics, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
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