Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39853438›Full record

SynthesisEuropean journal of trauma and emergency surgery : official publication of the European Trauma Society2025

Preventing confounding in observational studies in orthopedic trauma surgery through expert panels: a systematic review.

Rolf H H Groenwold, L X van Rossenberg, D P J Smeeing, R M Houwert, J W Schoones, S P J Muijs, F C Oner, Y de Jong, B J M van de Wall, NEXT study group

Abstract readSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in European journal of trauma and emergency surgery : official publication of the European Trauma Society, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Rolf H H GroenwoldDepartment of Clinical Epidemiology, Leiden University Medical Center, Albinusdreef 2, Leiden, 2333 ZA, the Netherlands. R.H.H.Groenwold@lumc.nl.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9238-6999
L X van RossenbergFaculty of Health Sciences and Medicine, University of Lucerne, Lucerne, Switzerland.
D P J SmeeingDepartment of Trauma Surgery, Rijnstate Hospital, Arnhem, the Netherlands.
R M HouwertDepartment of Trauma Surgery, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, the Netherlands.
J W SchoonesDirectorate Research Policy, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1120-4781
S P J MuijsDepartment of Orthopedic Surgery, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, the Netherlands.
F C OnerDepartment of Orthopedic Surgery, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, the Netherlands.
Y de JongDepartment of Clinical Epidemiology, Leiden University Medical Center, Albinusdreef 2, Leiden, 2333 ZA, the Netherlands.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7805-1508
B J M van de WallFaculty of Health Sciences and Medicine, University of Lucerne, Lucerne, Switzerland.
NEXT study group

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeConfounding in observational studies can be mitigated by selecting only those patients, in whom equipoise of both treatments is secured by experts' disagreement over optimal therapy.

methodsWe conducted a systematic review to identify observational studies in the field of orthopedic trauma surgery that utilized expert panels for patient inclusion in order to limit the potential for confounding.

resultsFour studies were identified that used expert panels to select participants based on expert disagreement. Derived from these studies and our own experience, recommendations were made regarding reporting of the size and composition of the expert panel, the information the expert panel receives, criteria for disagreement, selection of patients, and statistical analysis.

conclusionWith this review we aim to provide insight into this study design and to stimulate discussions about the potential of expert panels to control for confounding in studies of medical treatments.

Indexed as

Observational Studies as TopicOrthopedic ProceduresOrthopedicsPatient SelectionAcute Care SurgeryConfounding Factors, EpidemiologicHumansResearch DesignConfoundingMethodologyNatural experimentOrthopedic traumaStudy design

Identifiers

PMID39853438
PMCPMC11762208

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.