Counterintuitive results from observational data: a case study and discussion
Name
e026447.full.pdf
Description
Published version
Size
385.11 KB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
cddcbc4f905c84e22b5036a3ac1dda0a
Author(s)
Doty, Erik
Stone, David J
McCague, Ned
Celi, Leo Anthony G.
Date Issued
May 2019
Journal
BMJ open
Publisher
BMJ
Citation
Doty E., et al., "Counterintuitive results from observational data: a case study and discussion." BMJ Open 9,5 (2019) no. 9:e026447 doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2018-026447 ©2019 Author(s)
Version
Final published version
Abstract
The finding of an association between increased pain and improved outcomes was unexpected and clinically counterintuitive. In an increasingly digitised age of medical big data, such results are likely to become more common. The reliability of such counterintuitive results must be carefully examined. We suggest several issues to consider in this analytic process. If the data is determined to be valid, consideration must then be made towards alternative explanations for the counterintuitive results observed. Such results may in fact indicate that current clinical knowledge is incomplete or not have been firmly based on empirical evidence and function to inspire further research into the factors involved.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Institute for Medical Engineering & Science
Terms of Use
Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial License 4.0
Persistent DSpace Link
DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2018-026447
