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Catiwa J, Gallagher M, Talbot B, Kerr PG, Semple DJ, Roberts MA, Polkinghorne KR, Gray NA, Talaulikar G, Cass A, Kotwal S. Clinical Adjudication of Hemodialysis Catheter-Related Bloodstream Infections: Findings from the REDUCCTION Trial. KIDNEY360 2024; 5:550-559. [PMID: 38329768 PMCID: PMC11093551 DOI: 10.34067/kid.0000000000000389] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2023] [Accepted: 02/01/2024] [Indexed: 02/09/2024]
Abstract
Key Points The inter-rater reliability of reporting hemodialysis catheter-related infectious events between site investigators and trial adjudicators in Australia and New Zealand was substantial. The high concordance level in reporting catheter infections improves confidence in using site-level bacteremia rates as a clinical metric for quality benchmarking and future pragmatic clinical trials. A rigorous adjudication protocol may not be needed if clearly defined criteria to ascertain catheter-associated bacteremia are used. Background Hemodialysis catheter-related bloodstream infection (HD-CRBSI) are a significant source of morbidity and mortality among dialysis patients, but benchmarking remains difficult because of varying definitions of HD-CRBSI. This study explored the effect of clinical adjudication process on HD-CRBSI reporting. Methods The REDUcing the burden of Catheter ComplicaTIOns: a National approach trial implemented an evidence-based intervention bundle using a stepped-wedge design to reduce HD-CRBSI rates in 37 Australian kidney services. Six New Zealand services participated in an observational capacity. Adult patients with a new hemodialysis catheter between December 2016 and March 2020 were included. HD-CRBSI events reported were compared with the adjudicated outcomes using the end point definition and adjudication processes of the REDUcing the burden of Catheter ComplicaTIOns: a National approach trial. The concordance level was estimated using Gwet agreement coefficient (AC1) adjusted for service-level effects and implementation tranches (Australia only), with the primary outcome being the concordance of confirmed HD-CRBSI. Results A total of 744 hemodialysis catheter-related infectious events were reported among 7258 patients, 12,630 catheters, and 1.3 million catheter-exposure days. The majority were confirmed HD-CRBSI, with 77.9% agreement and substantial concordance (AC1=0.77; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.73 to 0.81). Exit site infections have the highest concordance (AC1=0.85; 95% CI, 0.78 to 0.91); the greatest discordance was in events classified as other (AC1=0.33; 95% CI, 0.16 to 0.49). The concordance of all hemodialysis catheter infectious events remained substantial (AC1=0.80; 95% CI, 0.76 to 0.83) even after adjusting for the intervention tranches in Australia and overall service-level clustering. Conclusions There was a substantial level of concordance in overall and service-level reporting of confirmed HD-CRBSI. A standardized end point definition of HD-CRBSI resulted in comparable hemodialysis catheter infection rates in Australian and New Zealand kidney services. Consistent end point definition could enable reliable benchmarking outside clinical trials without the need for independent clinical adjudication.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jayson Catiwa
- The George Institute for Global Health, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
- St George Hospital, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Martin Gallagher
- The George Institute for Global Health, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
- South Western Sydney Clinical School, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Benjamin Talbot
- The George Institute for Global Health, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
- Ellen Medical Devices, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
- School of Population Health, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Peter G. Kerr
- Department of Nephrology, Monash Medical Centre, Monash Health, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - David J. Semple
- Department of Renal Medicine, Te Whatu Ora Te Toka Tumai Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
- Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Matthew A. Roberts
- Eastern Health Clinical School, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Kevan R. Polkinghorne
- Department of Nephrology, Monash Medical Centre, Monash Health, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- Departments of Medicine, Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Nicholas A. Gray
- Sunshine Coast University Hospital, Birtinya, Queensland, Australia
- School of Health and Behavioural Sciences, University of the Sunshine Coast, Sippy Downs, Queensland, Australia
| | - Girish Talaulikar
- Renal Services, ACT Health, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
| | - Alan Cass
- Menzies School of Health Research, Charles Darwin University, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia
| | - Sradha Kotwal
- The George Institute for Global Health, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
- Prince of Wales Hospital, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
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Marx CE, Schenker C, Xu Y, Salvatore SP, Kahn SR, Garcia D, Delluc A, Kraaijpoel N, Langlois N, Girard P, Le Gal G, Tritschler T. Accuracy and interrater agreement of death event adjudications by physician trainees: validation of the ISTH definition of pulmonary embolism-related death in an autopsy cohort. J Thromb Haemost 2023; 21:2908-2912. [PMID: 37517478 DOI: 10.1016/j.jtha.2023.07.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2023] [Revised: 07/02/2023] [Accepted: 07/13/2023] [Indexed: 08/01/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND We previously determined good agreement and high specificity of the International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis (ISTH) definition of pulmonary embolism (PE)-related death among an expert central adjudication committee (CAC). CACs are often composed of experts in the corresponding research field. Involving physician trainees in CACs would allow investigators to divide the workload and foster trainees' research experience. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the accuracy of the ISTH definition of PE-related death for PE- versus non-PE-related deaths as confirmed by autopsy and its interrater agreement among physician trainees. METHODS This retrospective autopsy cohort included all patients with PE-related deaths between January 2010 and July 2019 as well as patients who died in 2018 from a cause other than PE at the New York-Presbyterian Hospital. Based on premortem clinical summaries, two physician trainees independently determined the cause of death using the ISTH definition of PE-related death. We calculated the sensitivity and specificity of the ISTH definition to identify autopsy-confirmed PE-related death and its interrater agreement. RESULTS Overall, 126 death events were adjudicated (median age, 68 years; 60 [48%] women), of which 29 (23%) were due to PE, as confirmed by autopsy. Sensitivity and specificity of the ISTH definition for autopsy-confirmed PE-related death was 48% (95% CI, 29-67) and 100% (95% CI, 96-100), respectively. Interrater reliability for PE-related death was good (percentage agreement, 93%; 95% CI, 87-96, Cohen's Kappa, 0.67; 95% CI, 44-85). CONCLUSION Our findings are consistent with our previous validation study. They further support the use of the ISTH definition of PE-related death and revealed high agreement between adjudicators with varied experience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caterina E Marx
- Department of General Internal Medicine, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
| | - Carla Schenker
- Department of General Internal Medicine, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Yan Xu
- Department of Medicine, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, University of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Steven P Salvatore
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College/New York-Presbyterian Hospital, New York
| | - Susan R Kahn
- Department of Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Divisions of Internal Medicine and Clinical Epidemiology, Jewish General Hospital/Lady Davis Institute, Montreal, Canada
| | - David Garcia
- Division of Hematology, Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle
| | - Aurélien Delluc
- Department of Medicine, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, University of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Noémie Kraaijpoel
- Department of Vascular Medicine, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Nicole Langlois
- Department of Medicine, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, University of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Philippe Girard
- Institut du Thorax Curie-Montsouris; Institut Mutualiste Montsouris, Paris, France
| | - Grégoire Le Gal
- Department of Medicine, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, University of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Tobias Tritschler
- Department of General Internal Medicine, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland; Department of Medicine, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, University of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
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Godolphin PJ, Bath PM, Montgomery AA. Should we adjudicate outcomes in stroke trials? A systematic review. Int J Stroke 2023; 18:154-162. [PMID: 35373672 DOI: 10.1177/17474930221094682] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Central adjudication of outcomes is common in randomized clinical trials in stroke. The rationale for adjudication is clear; centrally adjudicated outcomes should have less random and systematic errors than outcomes assessed locally by site investigators. However, adjudication brings added complexities to a clinical trial and can be costly. AIM To assess the evidence for outcome adjudication in stroke trials. SUMMARY OF REVIEW We identified 12 studies evaluating central adjudication in stroke trials. The majority of these were secondary analyses of trials, and the results of all of these would have remained unchanged had central adjudication not taken place, even for trials without sufficient blinding. The largest differences between site-assessed and adjudicator-assessed outcomes were between the most subjective outcomes, such as causality of serious adverse events. We found that the cost of adjudication could be upward of £100,000 for medium to large prevention trials. These findings suggest that the cost of central adjudication may outweigh the advantages it brings in many cases. However, through simulation, we found that only a small amount of bias is required in site investigators' outcome assessments before adjudication becomes important. CONCLUSION Central adjudication may not be necessary in stroke trials with blinded outcome assessment. However, for open-label studies, central adjudication may be more important.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter J Godolphin
- MRC Clinical Trials Unit at UCL, Institute of Clinical Trials and Methodology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Philip M Bath
- Stroke Trials Unit, Mental Health & Clinical Neuroscience, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
- Stroke, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, Nottingham, UK
| | - Alan A Montgomery
- Nottingham Clinical Trials Unit, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
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Heindel P, Dieffenbach BV, Freeman NL, McGinigle KL, Menard MT. Central concepts for randomized controlled trials and other emerging trial designs. Semin Vasc Surg 2022; 35:424-430. [DOI: 10.1053/j.semvascsurg.2022.10.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2022] [Revised: 10/11/2022] [Accepted: 10/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
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Forman R, Viscoli CM, Bath PM, Furie KL, Guarino P, Inzucchi SE, Young L, Kernan WN. Central vs site outcome adjudication in the IRIS trial. J Stroke Cerebrovasc Dis 2022; 31:106667. [PMID: 35901589 DOI: 10.1016/j.jstrokecerebrovasdis.2022.106667] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2022] [Revised: 06/22/2022] [Accepted: 07/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Central adjudication of outcome events is the standard in clinical trial research. We examine the benefit of central adjudication in the Insulin Resistance Intervention after Stroke (IRIS) trial and show how the benefit is influenced by outcome definition and features of the adjudicated events. METHODS IRIS tested pioglitazone for prevention of stroke and myocardial infarction in patients with a recent transient ischemic attack or ischemic stroke. We compared the hazard ratios for study outcomes classified by site and central adjudication. We repeated the analysis for an updated stroke definition. RESULTS The hazard ratios for the primary outcome were identical (0.76) and statistically significant regardless of adjudicator. The hazard ratios for stroke alone were nearly identical with site and central adjudication, but only reached significance with site adjudication (HR, 0.80; p = 0.049 vs. HR, 0.82; p = 0.09). Using the updated stroke definition, all hazard ratios were lower than with the original IRIS definition and statistically significant regardless of adjudication method. Agreement was higher when stroke type was certain, subtype was large vessel or cardioembolic, signs or symptoms lasted > 24 h, imaging showed a stroke, and when NIHSS was ≥3. DISCUSSION Central stroke adjudication caused the hazard ratio for a main secondary outcome in IRIS (stroke alone) to be higher and lose statistical significant compared with site review. The estimate of treatment effects were larger with the updated stroke definition. There may be benefit of central adjudication for events with specific features, such as shorter symptom duration or normal brain imaging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachel Forman
- Yale School of Medicine, 100 York St. Suite 1N, New Haven, CT 06511, United States.
| | - Catherine M Viscoli
- Yale School of Medicine, 100 York St. Suite 1N, New Haven, CT 06511, United States
| | - Philip M Bath
- Stroke Trials Unit, Mental Health and Clinical Neuroscience, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2UH, UK
| | - Karen L Furie
- Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI, United States
| | - Peter Guarino
- Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA, United States; Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT, United States
| | - Silvio E Inzucchi
- Yale School of Medicine, 100 York St. Suite 1N, New Haven, CT 06511, United States
| | - Lawrence Young
- Yale School of Medicine, 100 York St. Suite 1N, New Haven, CT 06511, United States
| | - Walter N Kernan
- Yale School of Medicine, 100 York St. Suite 1N, New Haven, CT 06511, United States
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