ArticleAmerican journal of epidemiology2016
Using Big Data to Emulate a Target Trial When a Randomized Trial Is Not Available.
Article in American journal of epidemiology, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 7 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 1,632 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Early Left Ventricular unLoading by Impella (ECMELLA) or Intra-aortic Balloon Pump for Cardiogenic Shock in Patients on VA-ECMO
Dynamic Magnesium Replacement Strategies and 28-Day All-Cause Mortality in Non-Cardiac Critically Ill Patients With Hypomagnesemia: A Target Trial Emulation Using the MIMIC-IV Database (2008-2019)
Safety of Reduced Methotrexate Lab Monitoring: a Population-based, Target Trial Emulation Study
Pre-Diagnosis GLP-1 Receptor Agonist Use and Post-Cancer Mortality in Adults With Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes: A Target Trial Emulation
Early GLP-1 Receptor Agonist and SGLT2 Inhibitor Add-On Strategies in Adults With Obesity, Type 2 Diabetes, Cardiovascular-Kidney-Metabolic Syndrome Stage 2-3, and Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease: A Target Trial Emulation
SnapChole: An International, Time-Bound Prospective Platform Study of Management Strategies and Outcomes in Acute Calculous Cholecystitis
Preadmission GLP-1 Receptor Agonist Plus SGLT2 Inhibitor Use and Early Outcomes After Pneumonia Hospitalization in Adults With Type 2 Diabetes: A Target Trial Emulation
Who cites it
1,632 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Sources of Heterogeneity in the Efficacy of Statins for Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Diseases: A Systematic Review with Meta-Regression and Meta-Analysis of Within-Study Subgroup Differences.Cardiovascular drugs and therapy · 2026Pooled it
- Effect of Combination Therapy with SGLT2 Inhibitors and GLP-1 Receptor Agonists on Myocardial Infarction and Stroke in Type 2 Diabetes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Diabetes therapy : research, treatment and education of diabetes and related disorders · 2026Pooled it
- Sodium Glucose Co-Transporter 2 Inhibitors and Ventricular Arrhythmias in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes: A Systematic Review of Observational Studies.Drug safety · 2026Pooled it
- Urate-lowering effects of losartan: a meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials and target trial emulation.Hypertension research : official journal of the Japanese Society of Hypertension · 2026Pooled it
- A review of the relationship between dimensions of alcohol consumption and the burden of disease: 2026 update including Mendelian randomisation studies.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2026Pooled it
- Conversion hepatectomy and survival in initially unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma: a systematic review and meta-analysis with quantitative bias analysis.World journal of surgical oncology · 2026Pooled it
- Association between usual protein intake and muscle function in older U.S. adults: a target-trial emulation using NHANES 2011-2018.Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition · 2026Article
- Treatment patterns and outcomes in US patients with unresectable HCC treated with embolization.Hepatic oncology · 2026Article
- Feasibility of a prospective real-time monitoring system capturing real-world data from elderly patients with acute myeloid leukemia.ESMO real world data and digital oncology · 2026Article
- Predicting intradialytic exercise intolerance in maintenance hemodialysis patients: an interpretable machine learning approach integrating functional assessments.Renal failure · 2026Observational
- Choosing real-world data for clinical and epidemiological research: methodological lessons from NHIRD and TriNetX-A narrative review.Annals of medicine · 2026Review
- Treatment switching in oncology evidence synthesis: a systematic review of meta-analytical practices incorporating time-dependent confounding, censoring bias, and patient-level variability.Dialogues in health · 2026Article
- Amino acid infusion and acute kidney injury after aortic surgery: a multicenter observational study with target trial emulation.Renal failure · 2026Observational
- Predictors of in-hospital mortality among adults with chronic kidney disease at a national tertiary hospital in Sierra Leone.Renal failure · 2026Article
- Methodological innovations to advance substance use disorder research: Proceedings of a NIDA workshop on target trial emulation and translational testing of digital health tools.Journal of substance use and addiction treatment · 2026Article
- Cardiorenal Mortality and Safety Outcomes of GLP-1 Receptor Agonists in Type 2 Diabetes With BMI Below 27 kg/mDiabetes, obesity & metabolism · 2026Article
- Re: Nielsen N.K, Hjort P.B, Hansen E.B, et al. Substaging and stratified treatment of T1 bladder cancer - a nationwide register‑based study. Eur Urol Open Sci 2026;90:92‑100.European urology open science · 2026Article
- Artificial intelligence in pediatric nephrology: current applications and emerging frameworks for evidence generation.Pediatric nephrology (Berlin, Germany) · 2026Review
- Association of phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitor use with cardiovascular and renal outcomes in male kidney transplant recipients with benign prostatic hyperplasia or erectile dysfunction.International urology and nephrology · 2026Article
- Bridging Randomized Trial Efficacy and Real-World Effectiveness in Multiple Myeloma: Integrating Clinical Trials and Real-World Evidence for Individualized Care.European journal of haematology · 2026Review
1,572 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Ideally, questions about comparative effectiveness or safety would be answered using an appropriately designed and conducted randomized experiment. When we cannot conduct a randomized experiment, we analyze observational data. Causal inference from large observational databases (big data) can be viewed as an attempt to emulate a randomized experiment-the target experiment or target trial-that would answer the question of interest. When the goal is to guide decisions among several strategies, causal analyses of observational data need to be evaluated with respect to how well they emulate a particular target trial. We outline a framework for comparative effectiveness research using big data that makes the target trial explicit. This framework channels counterfactual theory for comparing the effects of sustained treatment strategies, organizes analytic approaches, provides a structured process for the criticism of observational studies, and helps avoid common methodologic pitfalls.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.