Clinical research XI. From the clinical judgment to the case and controls design
Main Article Content
Keywords
Case-control studies, Clinical trial
Abstract
The case-control design like the historical cohort carries a number of potential biases as a consequence of the reconstruction of events once the outcome has occurred, and as a consequence of the bias generated by the selection of the control group. This design is characterized by a number of cases (cases), for which we identify a comparison group (controls). It begins at the outcome in direction to the probable cause; therefore, it requires reconstructing events in the opposite direction as it occurs in the phenomenon of causality. However, we must always keep in mind the architectural design, and consider in each section —baseline, maneuver and outcome— characteristics that allow us to demonstrate the effect of the maneuver, avoiding improper assembly, susceptibility, performance and detection bias. The transfer bias can only be controlled with the provision of a defined population, whether it is a population based case-control study or a case-control study nested in a cohort. When a defined population is not possible, this design is only recommended in rare diseases.
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