The data collection form is a bridge in-between the original studies and the final systematic reviews. It’s the basis for data analyses, directly related to the results and conclusions of systematic reviews, and plays an important role in systematic reviews. There are strict requirements of data collection forms in making Cochrane systematic reviews. In this article, the authors introduce their experiences regarding to the design of data collection form.
ObjectiveTo analyze the relation between preoperative staging and surgical decision-making in rectal cancer patients from the West China Colorectal Cancer Database (DACCA) and to identify key factors influencing the selection of surgical approach. MethodsBased on the updated DACCA dataset as of April 24, 2024, the patients with rectal cancer were included. Chi-square tests and logistic regression analyses were performed to evaluate the correlation between preoperative staging [(y)cTNM stage] and the selection of sphincter-preserving surgery or intersphincteric resection (ISR). Additional factors, including age, body mass index (BMI), tumor location, and nutritional score, were assessed for their impact on surgical choices. ResultsA total of 2 733 rectal cancer patients were included. Preoperative (y)cTNM staging distribution was as follows: 23 (0.8%) at stage 0, 388 (14.2%) at stage Ⅰ, 760 (27.8%) at stage Ⅱ, 873 (31.9%) at stage Ⅲ, and 689 (25.2%) at stage Ⅳ. The preoperative stage Ⅱ–Ⅳ were the independent risk factors for both the choices of sphincter-preserving surgery and ISR [stage Ⅱ: sphincter-preserving surgery: OR(95%CI)=13.634 (4.952, 37.540), P<0.001; ISR: OR (95%CI)=3.097 (2.108, 4.551), P<0.001. stage Ⅲ: sphincter-preserving surgery: OR (95%CI)=14.677 (5.339, 40.345), P<0.001; ISR: OR (95%CI)=2.985 (2.042, 4.363), P<0.001. stage Ⅳ: OR (95%CI)=25.653 (9.320, 70.610), P<0.001; ISR: OR (95%CI)=4.445 (3.015, 6.555), P<0.001]. The low/ultra-low tumor location was an independent risk factor for choice of sphincter-preserving surgery [OR (95%CI)=2.038 (1.489, 2.791), P<0.001], but which was an independent protective factor for the choice of ISR [OR (95%CI)=0.013 (0.009, 0.019), P<0.001]. ConclusionsResults of this study are consistent with clinical practice, indicating that preoperative staging is the core basis for surgical decision-making in rectal cancer. With the progression of staging, patients are more inclined to choose non-sphincter-preserving and non-ISR procedures. Although low/ultralow tumors pose great challenges for anal preservation, the proportion of ISR selection remains relatively high. The anatomical location of the tumor and nutritional status also significantly affect surgical selection, necessitating comprehensive preoperative evaluation.
In the field of artificial intelligence (AI) medical imaging, data annotation is a key factor in all AI development. In the traditional manual annotation process, there are prominent problems such as difficult data acquisition, high manual labor intensity, strong professionalism and low labeling quality. Therefore, an intelligent multimodal medical image annotation system is urgently needed to meet the requirements of labeling. Based on the image cloud, West China Hospital of Sichuan University collected the multimodal image data of hospital and allied hospitals, and designed a multi-modal image annotation system through information technology, which integrated various image processing algorithms and AI models to simplify the image data annotation. With the construction of annotation system, the efficiency of data labeling in the hospitals is improved, which provides necessary data support for the AI image research and related industry construction in the hospital, so as to promote the implementation of artificial intelligence industry related to medical images in the hospital.
Sample size, mean and standard deviation are necessary when conducting meta-analysis for continuous outcomes. Advanced methods of data extraction were needed if the mean and the standard deviation couldn’t be obtained from a literature directly. Eight methods were introduced and two examples were given to illustrate how to apply the methods.
A metadata standard is a high level document that establishes a common way of structuring and understanding data, and includes principles and implementation issues for utilizing the standard. It helps to record their collections and processes and to structure this information, and can be used to validate data integrity and quality. Metadata standards improve the quality and interoperability of information across information technology platforms by increasing compatibility, improving the consistency and efficiency of information collection, and reducing redundancy. This article introduced the progress and features of metadata standards of clinical research, and aimed to promote the standardization of clinical research and scientific process of therapeutic evaluation.
There is huge clinical value in real world data from traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), but the real world study of TCM faces many challenges, because of its diverse data types, different standards, and serious data island phenomenon. Data governance is the key to transforming real world data into real world evidence. As the last step of data governance, data transformation has not been standardized. The key technologies and methods of data transformation, including data classification, natural language processing, standardization, data system construction, and derivative variables, will be discussed in this article based on the characteristics of real world data of TCM and the current development status of data transformation technology. At the same time, the suggestions of safety control and quality control of data transformation are put forward, and the data transformation system of real world study of TCM is preliminarily constructed, combined with the characteristics of TCM data. It is hoped that this paper can provide references for future real world studies of TCM.
ObjectiveTo analyze the relation between the marital status of patients with colorectal cancer and surgical treatment options decision-making and outcomes in the current version of the Database from Colorectal Cancer (DACCA). MethodsThe version of DACCA selected for this analysis was updated on August 31, 2022. The patients were enrolled according to the established screening criteria and then assigned to 3 groups: the unmarried, married, and divorced or widowed groups. The differences in the surgical modality decisions, surgical quality, and surgical complications among these 3 groups were analyzed. ResultsA total of 7 634 data that met the screened criteria were enrolled. It was found that the difference in the composition of the willingness to conserve anus among patients with different marital status was statistically significant (χ2=28.635, P<0.001), reflecting that the willingness to conserve anus was “strong” among unmarried and married patients, and the overall willingness to conserve anus was relatively more positive among unmarried patients, while the willingness to conserve anus was “rational” among widowed or divorced patients. No statistical differences were found in the surgical modality decisions (rectal surgery: χ2=0.493, P=0.782; colon surgery: χ2=0.213, P=0.899), including the presence of prophylactic stoma for the patient with radical resection (χ2=5.156, P=0.076）, surgical quality (H=3.452, P=0.178）, presence of surgical in-hospital complications (χ2=1.663, P=0.435), and the presence of short-term surgical complications (χ2=1.695, P=0.428). ConclusionsAnalysis of the data in DACCA reveals that there is difference in willingness to preserve anus among colorectal cancer patients with different marital status. Married and unmarried patients have stronger anal preservation intention, suggesting that clinical care and family support should be strengthened during clinical diagnosis and treatment.
ObjectiveTo analyze the current version of the West China Database from Colorectal Cancer (DACCA) and explore how the occupational background of colorectal cancer patients affects the complexity of surgical difficulty and postoperative complications. MethodsWhen using the updated version of DACCA data on May 28, 2023 for analysis, the data items concerned covered occupation, operative duration, anatomical difficulty, pelvic stenosis, abdominal obesity, adhesion in surgical area, abnormal mesenteric status, tissue or organ hypertrophy, intestinal quality in surgical area, postoperative complications in hospital, short-term postoperative complications and long-term postoperative complications. According to the “Occupational Classification Code of the People’s Republic of China”, the occupations of patients were divided into professional and technical personnel, staff, service personal, production personnel, manufacturing personnel and retirees according to different occupations. The operative difficulty and postoperative complications of 6 groups were analyzed. ResultsAccording to the screening conditions, 5 734 valid data rows were obtained from DACCA. The results of occupation analysis showed that there were significant difference in operative duration (H=11.609, P=0.041), anatomical difficulty (H=29.166, P<0.001), pelvic stenosis (H=16.412, P=0.006), abdominal obesity (H=44.622, P<0.001), adhesion in surgical area (H=23.695, P<0.001), abnormal mesenteric status (χ2=39.252, P=0.035), tissue or organ hypertrophy (χ2=58.284, P<0.001) and intestinal quality in surgical area (H=21.041, P=0.001) between different groups. There were no significant differences in the occurrence of complications in hospital, near and short-term and long-term after operation among different occupations (P>0.05). Further subgroup analysis showed that only the difference of fever (χ2=10.969, P=0.041) and intestinal obstruction (χ2=12.025, P=0.021) were statistically significant among different occupations. ConclusionThe occupation of patients may affect the difficulty of colon cancer surgery, and the occurrence of postoperative complications is nothing to do with the occupation of patients, but the occurrence of postoperative fever and postoperative intestinal obstruction is related to occupations, and the possible causes need to be further explored.
Objective To study and analyze both merits and demerits of 4 famous foreign evidence-based medicine databases, so as to provide references for the development of Chinese evidence-based medicine databases. Methods By means of document analysis and web search, the databases including UpToDate, MD Consult, Clinical Evidence and DynaMed were comprehensively analyzed from the following aspects: management ideas, editing process, personalized services and so on. Results a) Time of foundation: UpToDate founded in 1992 is the earliest-established evidence-based medicine database; b) Management ideas: All 4 databases aim to integrate all the high quality evidences about some clinical topics and help doctors to make the most reasonable decisions at present; c) Editing process: The inclusive criteria of Clinical Evidence is more strict than other databases, for the evidence needs to go through 18 steps before it is included; and d) Update rate: DynaMed updates every day as the fastest than other databases. Conclusion A mature evidence-based medicine database needs a powerful methodology team, b financial support and a large number of literature services. Besides learning good foreign experiences, it is also very important to assemble a methodology team, and particularly to integrate domestic characteristics for the establishment of domestic evidence-based medicine database.
Based on previous evidence-based researches and teaching experience, our team conducted literature and book review, and summarized 4 requirements, 1) effect measure calculation and conversion, 2) registration of evidence-based research, 3) evidence-based research database and 4) quality evaluation tools and reporting guidelines. We developed an online platform of evidence-based medicine research helper using the front-end and back-end technology, which can be accessed using www.ebm-helper.cn. Currently, the online tool has included 46 scenarios for effect measure calculation and conversion, introduction of 7 evidence-based research registration platforms, 26 commonly used databases for evidence-based research and 29 quality evaluation tools and reporting guidelines. This online tool can help researchers to solve specific problems encountered in different stages of evidence-based medicine research. Promoting the application of this platform in evidence-based medicine will help researchers to use the tool scientifically and improve research efficiency.