SynthesisJAMA network open2023
Reporting of Observational Studies Explicitly Aiming to Emulate Randomized Trials: A Systematic Review.
Synthesis in JAMA network open, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT07512401 (Safety of Reduced Methotrexate Lab Monitoring), which is not on this map. Cited by 52 papers, 5 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.
Safety of Reduced Methotrexate Lab Monitoring: a Population-based, Target Trial Emulation Study
Who cites it
52 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Programmatic effectiveness of tuberculosis preventive treatment for people with HIV in six high-tuberculosis-burden countries (PROTECT): a prospective cohort study and meta-analysis.The lancet. HIV · 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
- Concordance between target trial emulation and randomised controlled trials: systematic review and meta-analysis.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2026Pooled it
- Conducting observational analyses with the target trial emulation approach: a methodological systematic review.BMJ open · 2024Pooled it
- Treatment Effects in Randomized and Nonrandomized Studies of Pharmacological Interventions: A Meta-Analysis.JAMA network open · 2024Pooled it
- Target trial emulation studies in oncology: a comprehensive analysis.The oncologist · 2026Article
- Active Monitoring versus Surgical Excision for Atypical Ductal Hyperplasia.Cancer prevention research (Philadelphia, Pa.) · 2026Observational
- Comparative effectiveness of posterior cervical foraminotomy versus anterior cervical discectomy with fusion for single-level cervical radiculopathy: a target trial emulation study.European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society · 2026Article
- Risk of Major Adverse Cardiovascular Events With Dolutegravir Versus Efavirenz-Based Antiretroviral Therapy: Emulated Target Trials Using Routine, De-identified Data From South Africa.Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America · 2026Article
- Low-to-moderate dose glucocorticoids in primary Sjögren's syndrome patients on hydroxychloroquine/iguratimod therapy: a target trial emulation study.Clinical rheumatology · 2026Article
- The TARGET guideline for reporting observational studies of interventions.Nature medicine · 2026Article
- Evaluating Cardiovascular Devices Using Observational Analyses.Circulation · 2026Review
- Target Trial Emulation and the TARGET Guideline to Advance Rural and Remote Health Research.The Medical journal of Australia · 2026Article
- Target trial emulation: bridging observational studies and randomized trials for health decision-making.Journal of comparative effectiveness research · 2026Article
- Patient and public involvement and engagement in target trial emulation framework: a scoping review protocol.BMJ open · 2026Article
- Mapping eligibility criteria in oncology target trial emulations using real-world data: a scoping review.BMC medical research methodology · 2026Article
- Design and Implementation of Observational Studies Emulating a Target Trial.JAMA network open · 2026Article
- Some Common Dose-Exposure-Response Estimands and Conditions for Their Causal Identifiability.CPT: pharmacometrics & systems pharmacology · 2026Article
- Accumulation and attenuation of cardiovascular benefit with glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists.BMJ medicine · 2026Article
- Identifying and avoiding design related biases in observational studies using the target trial framework.BMJ medicine · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
24 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Importance: Observational (nonexperimental) studies that aim to emulate a randomized trial (ie, the target trial) are increasingly informing medical and policy decision-making, but it is unclear how these studies are reported in the literature. Consistent reporting is essential for quality appraisal, evidence synthesis, and translation of evidence to policy and practice. Objective: To assess the reporting of observational studies that explicitly aimed to emulate a target trial. Evidence Review: We searched Medline, Embase, PsycINFO, and Web of Science for observational studies published between March 2012 and October 2022 that explicitly aimed to emulate a target trial of a health or medical intervention. Two reviewers double-screened and -extracted data on study characteristics, key predefined components of the target trial protocol and its emulation (eligibility criteria, treatment strategies, treatment assignment, outcome[s], follow-up, causal contrast[s], and analysis plan), and other items related to the target trial emulation. Findings: A total of 200 studies that explicitly aimed to emulate a target trial were included. These studies included 26 subfields of medicine, and 168 (84%) were published from January 2020 to October 2022. The aim to emulate a target trial was explicit in 70 study titles (35%). Forty-three studies (22%) reported use of a published reporting guideline (eg, Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology). Eighty-five studies (43%) did not describe all key items of how the target trial was emulated and 113 (57%) did not describe the protocol of the target trial and its emulation. Conclusion and Relevance: In this systematic review of 200 studies that explicitly aimed to emulate a target trial, reporting of how the target trial was emulated was inconsistent. A reporting guideline for studies explicitly aiming to emulate a target trial may improve the reporting of the target trial protocols and other aspects of these emulation attempts.
Indexed as
Identifiers
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.