Document Detail


Distinguishing case series from cohort studies.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  22213493     Owner:  NLM     Status:  In-Data-Review    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
Case series are a commonly reported study design, but the label "case series" is used inconsistently and sometimes incorrectly. Mislabeling impairs the appropriate indexing and sorting of evidence. This article tries to clarify the concept of case series and proposes a way to distinguish them from cohort studies. In a cohort study, patients are sampled on the basis of exposure and are followed over time, and the occurrence of outcomes is assessed. A cohort study may include a comparison group, although this is not a necessary feature. A case series may be a study that samples patients with both a specific outcome and a specific exposure, or one that samples patients with a specific outcome and includes patients regardless of whether they have specific exposures. Whereas a cohort study, in principle, enables the calculation of an absolute risk or a rate for the outcome, such a calculation is not possible in a case series.
Authors:
Olaf M Dekkers; Matthias Egger; Douglas G Altman; Jan P Vandenbroucke
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Publication Detail:
Type:  Journal Article    
Journal Detail:
Title:  Annals of internal medicine     Volume:  156     ISSN:  1539-3704     ISO Abbreviation:  Ann. Intern. Med.     Publication Date:  2012 Jan 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2012-01-03     Completed Date:  -     Revised Date:  -    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  0372351     Medline TA:  Ann Intern Med     Country:  United States    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  37-40     Citation Subset:  AIM; IM    
Affiliation:
Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands; University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland; and Center for Statistics in Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.
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