Brennan Kahan

NEW PAPER: "Reporting guidelines for studies involving generative artificial intelligence applications: what do I use, and when?"

--> www.nature.com/articles/s41...

#HealthTech #ClinicalAI #MachineLearning #MedAI #AIinMedicine #TransparentAI #HealthInnovation #GenAI

The term #estimand is now part of the technical language of trials - but it remains a concept that many find hard to understand. Recent work has aimed to make the term more accessible to researchers, patients & public 1/8
#MethodologyMonday #127

NEW paper "Clinical prediction models using machine learning in oncology: challenges and recommendations"

--> tinyurl.com/2h2mcy5h

#machinelearning #prediction #statssky #MLsky #methodsmatter

Supporting public involvement in defining estimands: a practical tool accessibly explaining the five key attributes of an estimand - Trials Background An estimand is a precise description of the treatment effect a trial is aiming to find out. We previously identified that public partners (defined as patients and/or members of the public w...

📢 New publication in #Trials led by @suziecro.bsky.social with the HEALTHY STATS public involvement group: Supporting public involvement in defining estimands: a practical tool accessibly explaining the five key attributes of an estimand trialsjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10....

Sage Journals: Discover world-class research Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.

We're excited to share our latest work on estimands in clinical trials!

📄 Estimating treatment effects in trials with outcome data truncated by death: A case study on aligning estimators with estimands.

🔗 Read the full paper: journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Want to come work on SNAP, BALANCE+, and STRAP? And change how we treat and manage bloodstream infections? See below. #IDSky

Current Opportunities We have an iCASE studentship available to start for the 2025/2026 academic year, and applications to our fifth round of recruitment to our DTP to start in October 2026 are now also open. Please see…

📢 Interested in a PhD in clinical trials methodology? The Trials Methodology Research Partnership are advertising projects for PhDs starting Oct 2026, in statistics, health economics, epidemiology, social science, and more, hosted at one of 12 UK partner institutions.
mrctmrpdtp.com/current-oppo...

📢 As one of the next round of TRMP PhD students (below) you could join me, Clare Robinson, @averoniki.bsky.social and @marionkcampbell.bsky.social to work on developing a typology of research outputs in trials methodology, based at @wiphcem.bsky.social. Details here: www.findaphd.com/phds/project...

Current Opportunities We have an iCASE studentship available to start for the 2025/2026 academic year, and applications to our fifth round of recruitment to our DTP to start in October 2026 are now also open. Please see…

🎓 Thinking about a PhD in clinical trial #methodology?

We have two funded PhD opportunities for students passionate about trial design and statistical methods:

• One in estimands
• One in non-inferiority trials

🔗 More info and how to apply here: buff.ly/lCpqcF6

@mrcnihrtmrp.bsky.social

Optimising the choice of estimand in randomised trials: developing guidance on balancing statistical and clinical considerations to ensure results matter to stakeholders at University College London o... PhD Project - Optimising the choice of estimand in randomised trials: developing guidance on balancing statistical and clinical considerations to ensure results matter to stakeholders at University Co...

New PhD position available at @mrcctu.bsky.social to develop guidance on balancing statistical and clinical considerations when choosing an estimand in RCTs.

www.findaphd.com/phds/project...

The recording of this webinar is now available on the @nihr-rss.bsky.social YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cNz...

Lots of feedback and engagement after this session. Some gentle push-back still: "But what if there's even just a *perception* from sites that a stepped wedge is preferable?" 🧵

A scoping review identified additional considerations for defining estimands in cluster randomised trials - Journal of Clinical Epidemiology www.jclinepi.com/article/S089...

Introduction to INSPECT-SR Training Workshop November An introductory 2-hour online workshop will introduce participants to the INSPECT-SR tool for assessing trustworthiness of randomised controlled...

Introductory online INSPECT-SR workshop. November 6th, 12-2pm UK-time. Free, places limited. BOOK: www.trybooking.com/uk/events/la...

The number needed to treat: It is time to bow out gracefully - Journal of Clinical Epidemiology www.jclinepi.com/article/S089...

There has been a lot of debate recently about the promise of real world data - the routine (observational) data collected on patients eg  treatments received, clinical outcomes etc – for estimating treatment effects. But can they deliver? 1/9
#MethodologyMonday #123

Grand rounds in methodology: improving the design of staggered implementation cluster randomised trials The stepped-wedge cluster randomised trial is a popular design in implementation and health services research. All clusters, such as clinics or hospitals, start in the control state, and gradually swi...

Improving the design of staggered implementation cluster randomised trials qualitysafety.bmj.com/content/earl...

We often now hear the term “Bayesian borrowing” in trials. But what is Bayesian borrowing and what are the pros and cons around its use? 1/6
#MethodologyMonday #122

NEW PAPER in @bmj.com "Dealing with continuous variables and modelling non-linear associations in healthcare data: practical guide"

--> www.bmj.com/content/390/...

#methodologymatters #StatsSky #EpiSky

If outcome = "no. of antibiotic prescriptions" and more people in one arm get LT antibiotics (which presumably precludes further prescriptions?), this does seem like a challenge.

Could of course be good reasons for it - does highlight importance of estimands (along with justifications for choice)!

Think they've used a treatment policy strategy (ie were interested in the effect of Hiprex vs placebo whether or not people started on suppressive antibiotics later).

I don't know enough about the area to say if this is sensible, but if suppressive antibiotics are part of usual care, it may be?

What's that? The target trial emulation obtained the same answer as the RCT? Wow, I guess RCTs are generalisable after all! Perhaps we should perform them rather than using interventions on hundreds of thousands of people before we know whether or not they work, then doing a TTE?

Goose chase meme. Goose asks "Unbiased for what estimand?" then yells "Unbiased for what!!"

Reckon I can submit this as a figure for a paper?

Foreground text says “Marginal” and “conditional” are relative descriptions of an estimand In the background is a smokey mollusc

New post: “Marginal” and “conditional” are relative descriptions of an estimand

When do composite estimands answer non-causal questions? Under a composite estimand strategy, the occurrence of the intercurrent event is incorporated into the endpoint definition, for instance by assigning a poor outcome value to patients who experience th...

New paper posted on Arxiv: "When do composite estimands answer non-causal questions?"

This can happen more often than you think, and can have a dramatic impact on trial results (e.g. a false-positive rate of almost 90%)

arxiv.org/abs/2506.22610 @timpmorris.bsky.social

CONSORT 2025 Statement This Special Communication introduces the updated Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) 2025 statement, which includes substantive and structural changes to account for recent methodolo...

The CONSORT 2025 Statement is here. Essential reading for those involved in the reporting & reviewing of randomized trials.

We're proud to see so many #UKCTUNetwork units & individual researchers contributing to this crucial update!

🔗 tinyurl.com/yc3cbh33

#CONSORT2025 #ResearchTransparency

Would like to add… there are guidelines for all types of studies… www.equator-network.org/reporting-gu...

Please people. It's not hard. In fact, it makes your life easier. And when you don't use CONSORT, you look like a novice.

CONSORT 2025 Statement Updated Guideline for Reporting Randomized Trials

Authors, editors, reviewers, and other potential users should use CONSORT 2025 when writing and evaluating manuscripts of randomized trials to ensure that trial reports are clear and transparent.

Learn more in this Special Communication.

https://ja.ma/3TlnKQe

Stepped wedge devotees step up, and cluster enthusiasts get ready to cluster: it's conference time again.