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Allore HG, Goldfeld KS, Gutman R, Li F, Monin JK, Taljaard M, Travison TG. Statistical Considerations for Embedded Pragmatic Clinical Trials in People Living with Dementia. J Am Geriatr Soc 2020; 68 Suppl 2:S68-S73. [PMID: 32589276 DOI: 10.1111/jgs.16616] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2020] [Revised: 04/09/2020] [Accepted: 04/10/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
There is overwhelming need for nonpharmacological interventions to improve the health and well-being of people living with dementia (PLWD). The National Institute on Aging Imbedded Pragmatic Alzheimer's Disease (AD) and AD-Related Dementias Clinical Trials (IMPACT) Collaboratory supports clinical trials of such interventions embedded in healthcare systems. The embedded pragmatic clinical trial (ePCT) is ideally suited to testing the effectiveness of complex interventions in vulnerable populations at the point of care. These trials, however, are complex to conduct and interpret, and face challenges in efficiency (i.e., statistical power) and reproducibility. In addition, trials conducted among PLWD present specific statistical challenges, including difficulty in outcomes ascertainment from PLWD, necessitating reliance on reports by caregivers, and heterogeneity in measurements across different settings or populations. These and other challenges undercut the reliability of measurement, the feasibility of capturing outcomes using pragmatic designs, and the ability to validly estimate interventions' effectiveness in real-world settings. To address these challenges, the IMPACT Collaboratory has convened a Design and Statistics Core, the goals of which are: to support the design and conduct of ePCTs directed toward PLWD and their caregivers; to develop guidance for conducting embedded trials in this population; and to educate quantitative and clinical scientists in the design, conduct, and analysis of these trials. In this article, we discuss some of the contemporary methodological challenges in this area and develop a set of research priorities the Design and Statistics Core will undertake to meet these goals. J Am Geriatr Soc 68:S68-S73, 2020.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heather G Allore
- Department of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.,Section of Geriatrics, Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
| | - Keith S Goldfeld
- Division of Biostatistics, Department of Population Health, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York, New York, USA
| | - Roee Gutman
- Department of Biostatistics, Brown University School of Public Health, Providence, Rhode Island, USA
| | - Fan Li
- Department of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
| | - Joan K Monin
- Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, School of Public Health, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
| | - Monica Taljaard
- Clinical Epidemiology Program, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.,School of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Thomas G Travison
- Division of Gerontology, Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.,Marcus Institute for Aging Research, Hebrew SeniorLife, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
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Ouellet GM, Ouellet JA, Tinetti ME. Principle of rational prescribing and deprescribing in older adults with multiple chronic conditions. Ther Adv Drug Saf 2018; 9:639-652. [PMID: 30479739 PMCID: PMC6243421 DOI: 10.1177/2042098618791371] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2018] [Accepted: 06/27/2018] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Although the majority of older adults in the developed world live with multiple chronic conditions (MCCs), the task of selecting optimal treatment regimens is still fraught with difficulty. Older adults with MCCs may derive less benefit from prescribed medications than healthier patients as a result of the competing risk of several possible outcomes including, but not limited to, death before a benefit can be accrued. In addition, these patients may be at increased risk of medication-related harms in the form of adverse effects and significant burdens of treatment. At present, the balance of these benefits and harms is often uncertain, given that older adults with MCCs are often excluded from clinical trials. In this review, we propose a framework to consider patients' own priorities to achieve optimal treatment regimens. To begin, the practicing clinician needs information on the patient's goals, what the patient is willing and able to do to achieve these goals, an estimate of the patient's clinical trajectory, and what the patient is actually taking. We then describe how to integrate this information to understand what matters most to the patient in the context of an array of potential tradeoffs. Finally, we propose conducting serial therapeutic trials of prescribing and deprescribing, with success measured as progress towards the patient's own health outcome goals. The process described in this manuscript is truly an iterative process, which should be repeated regularly to account for changes in the patient's priorities and clinical status. With this process, we aim to achieve optimal prescribing, that is, treatment regimens that maximize benefits that matter to the patient and minimize burdens and potential harms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gregory M. Ouellet
- Section of Geriatrics, Department of Internal Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, 367 Cedar Street, Harkness A, Room 308-A, New Haven, CT 06520-8093, USA
| | - Jennifer A. Ouellet
- Section of Geriatrics, Department of Internal Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Mary E. Tinetti
- Section of Geriatrics, Department of Internal Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
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Allore H. Special Issue: Methods for Estimating Treatment Effects for Persons with Multiple Chronic Conditions. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF STATISTICS IN MEDICAL RESEARCH 2016; 5:1. [PMID: 27559427 PMCID: PMC4993529] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Grants] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Heather Allore
- Yale Program on Aging, 300 George St, Suite 775, New Haven, CT 06511 USA, Fax: 203-785-4823
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