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Centre for Statistics in Medicine

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Latest news from CSM

COVID-19’s high blood clot risk

A recent study of patient health records found that around 1 in 100 people with COVID-19 had a venal or arterial thrombosis, with rates higher still among males, and particularly for those hospitalised.

Broken leg in cast

Rethinking pain management after injury

NDORMS researchers are to study whether a pain management treatment using cognitive behavioural therapy will improve recovery for people who have had a major leg injury.

Global covid map

Oxford leads global cross-collaboration Covid research

A new collaboration between Oxford, Brazil and Pakistan has been funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The partnership will provide researchers with de-identified health data from two of the worlds global COVID-19 hotspots to increase understanding of COVID-19 in these communities and help accelerate the management of the disease.

NDORMS joins DARWIN EU® Coordination Centre for drug and vaccine safety

The European Medicines Agency has announced the establishment of the Data Analysis and Real World Interrogation Network (DARWIN EU®) to support better decision making on the development and effectiveness of medicines and vaccines.

Packet of Tramadol tablets

Oxford researchers call for an urgent re-evaluation of “weak” opioid safety profile

A new study associates dispensation doses of tramadol with increased risk of mortality, cardiovascular events, and fractures compared to the use of codeine to treat pain.

Vials of the Covid-19 vaccine

COVID-19 vaccine safety monitoring should account for age, gender, and database differences

The largest, most extensive global network study on background rates for adverse events of special interest identifies important age, sex and database differences that should inform future safety surveillance efforts.

A variety of medicines in tablet and liquid form

3,400 different medicines used globally to treat COVID-19

Insufficient data, and misleading recommendations led to significant early heterogeneity in global COVID-19 patient management, according to recent BMJ study

Coronavirus modelling

Understanding the first wave of COVID-19 and implications for tackling the ongoing pandemic: evidence from 5.5 million people from Catalonia, Spain

Health outcomes during the first wave of COVID-19 in Catalonia, Spain, have been described in detail in a study published by Nature Communications.

Patients are set to benefit from new guidelines on Artificial Intelligence healthcare solutions

Patients set to benefit from new guidelines on Artificial Intelligence health solutions

Patients could benefit from a faster and more effective introduction of artificial intelligence (AI) innovations to diagnose and treat disease – thanks to the first international standards for reporting of clinical trials for AI.

Map of the world made out of pills

Grant towards OHDSI Global Research on COVID-19 treatments

An international cohort of OHDSI collaborators obtain a grant from the COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator to lead an effort to compare the effectiveness of treatments, including corticosteroids such as dexamethasone, under current evaluation for COVID-19 across an international observational data network.

Image of a calendar

Six-month outcomes after treatment for COVID-19 on intensive care units in England

Researchers at the University of Oxford are investigating the long-term health outcomes for patients who have been treated for severe COVID-19 disease in intensive care.

Patients with rheumatic pain increasingly turning to opioids

Reporting at EULAR, researchers found that opioid use by patients with rheumatic and musculoskeletal pain was on the rise in Europe.

Evaluation checklist

Could do better: clinical trial reporting fails to live up to the mark

The statistical analysis and reporting of treatment effects in reports of randomised trials with a binary primary endpoint requires substantial improvement, suggests NDORMS research published in BMC Medicine.

Coronavirus modelling

COVID-19 prognosis and prediction models for medical decision-making are flawed, say researchers

The modelling and approach to tackle the hard medical decisions associated with the spread of the COVID-19 virus may be based on weak and overly-optimistic evidence from studies that are biased and unreliable, suggests research published by The BMJ today.

Hydroxychloroquine spelt out in blocks

Oxford-led research describes the safety profile and potential harms of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin

Over 300 international researchers from the Observational Health Data Sciences and Informatics (OHDSI) community studied data from almost 1 million patients. They declared hydroxychloroquine safe for short-term use, but urge caution in using it in combination with azithromycin.

Portrait of a man in glasses sitting using a laptop

Sponsored place available for the Randomised Controlled Trials Course

The inaugural Doug Altman scholarship will be offered to an LMIC (lower-to-middle-income country) applicant or a student.

A Europe-wide study finds that the antiviral drug, oseltamivir (Tamiflu®), can help people recover from flu-like illness about one-day sooner on average, with older, sicker patients who have been unwell for longer recovering two-to-three days sooner.

Flu antiviral has bigger benefits for sicker, older patients

A Europe-wide study conducted over three flu seasons finds that the antiviral drug, oseltamivir (Tamiflu®), can help people recover from flu-like illness about one-day sooner on average, with older, sicker patients who have been unwell for longer recovering two-to-three days sooner.

NIHR success for NDORMS researchers

Four investigators based at the Botnar Research Centre, NDORMS have been recently awarded National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) fellowships to further our understanding of a variety of musculoskeletal conditions and develop better methodology to support medical research.

CSM members ICTMC submission success

YSM prize awarded to CSM Statistician Jamie Stokes

How do you explain your research to the public?

... Spend a day at a science festival talking to children! Patricia Logullo talks about her experience at Cheltenham Science Festival.

Mounting evidence that BMI and smoking should not be used for rationing knee and hip replacement

A new study by researchers at NDORMS, University of Oxford now published in Osteoarthritis and Cartilage found that the average lifetime risk of needing further surgery following knee and hip replacement – revision surgery – was around 5% after knee replacement and 8% after hip replacement, with neither body mass index (BMI, combining an individual's height and weight) or smoking having any meaningful effect on these risks.

Shaping medical care through innovative methodology

The Centre for Statistics in Medicine (CSM) has been awarded £2.5m by Cancer Research UK to advance a programme of work for research on research, developing crucial methodology and key guidelines for excellent medical research.

Word cloud in greens and blues, featuring words such as randomised, controlled, trials, unmeasured, validity, systematic, study, methods, random, medical, experiment, sequentially, infarction, care, equivalence, and subgroup.

Guidelines on reporting multi-arm parallel-group randomised trials

Early-career researchers praise EQUATOR Publication School

The latest EQUATOR Publication School, held 11-12 April by the UK EQUATOR Centre at NDORMS, was a resounding success!

New Cochrane review on exercise for prevention of falls in older people

New research published in the Cochrane Library today provides strong evidence that falls in people over sixty-years old can be prevented by exercise programmes.

Lead Statistician Joins OCTRU/CSM

OCTRU/CSM have recruited a new lead statistician to join the team.

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NDORMS part of large European project on health data and evidence network

Professor Daniel Prieto-Alhambra of NDORMS will lead a work package on the generation of evidence from European wide observational data as part of a new Innovative Medicines Initiative project, the European Health Data & Evidence Network (EHDEN).

Getting sample sizes right for clinical trials

New guidance published yesterday by a team led by NDORMS Associate Professor Jonathan Cook will help researchers recruit the right number of people for clinical trials and answer key research questions.

Hands holding a foot with the ankle coloured red to show a sprain

New clinical tool will help patients with acute ankle sprain

Patients arriving at hospital emergency departments with acute ankle sprains can expect more timely advice and follow-up care in future after researchers in Oxford developed a new tool that will aid clinical decisions on treatment.

Muscle weakness costs the UK £2.5 billion

UK health and social care costs due to muscle weakness amount to around £2.5 billion according to a new study carried out at the University of Oxford and the University of Southampton.

Caroline Struthers shakes hands with Iain Chalmers on a stage. In the background are music stands and a drum kit.

EQUATOR Network awarded for reducing waste in research

The EQUATOR Network Education and Training Manager, Caroline Struthers received the Cochrane-REWARD Prize from the hands of Sir Iain Chalmers during the gala dinner of the Cochrane Colloquium in Edinburgh, this Monday 17 September.

NDORMS staff recognised for research and teaching excellence

Congratulations to our seven researchers who were awarded new titles in the University's 2018 Recognition of Distinction exercise.

NDORMS Professors on the REF2021 assessment team

Congratulations to Professors Sallie Lamb and Alan Silman on being appointed to serve on assessment sub-panels for the next Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021.

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Thank you, Doug Altman

Doug Altman did nothing short of forever changing the fields of statistics and medical research. With that, he touched the lives of thousands, if not millions of people worldwide… a handful more than those who will miss him.

Moderate to high intensity exercise does not slow cognitive decline in people with dementia

Moderate to high intensity exercise does not slow cognitive (mental) impairment in older people with dementia, finds a trial published by The BMJ today.

NDORMS Apprentice is the Oxfordshire Apprentice of the Year 2018

Congratulations to Katie Chegwin in the Centre for Statistics in Medicine (CSM) for being awarded the Oxfordshire Apprentice of the Year and Higher Apprentice Awards in the Oxfordshire Apprenticeship Awards 2018.

Sam Hawley (left), Cesar Gariga (middle), and Danielle Robinson (right) stand with their arms around one another and smile.

CSM statisticians recognised at WCO-IOF-ESCEO conference

Three members of CSM were recognised for the excellence of their epidemiological research into osteoarthritis and musculoskeletal conditions at a conference this weekend.

‘Life support’ for livers may improve transplants

Preserving livers at body temperature may improve transplant outcomes and increase viable donor liver numbers, thereby lowering waiting list mortality rates, reports a paper published online this week in Nature.

Sharing experiences in best-practice clinical trial design

CSM statisticians published their experiences in overcoming the challenges of using adaptive designs for early phase clinical trials. These trial designs are more likely to find the right answer than traditional designs.

Composite image in blues and purples of the Oxford skyline and researchers working in laboratories and healthcare, overlaid with the text ‘harnessing Oxford’s world-leading science to cure cancer.

CSM study protocol tied for winning position at ECCO workshop

CSM collaborator Sean O’Cathail took CEDAR, an adaptive phase I trial in rectal cancer, to a Europe-wide protocol development workshop in June 2017, where it tied for most innovative protocol.

Showcasing five years of the Oxford Clinical Trials Research Unit

The Oxford Clinical Trials Research Unit celebrates five years of running and supporting excellent clinical trials that benefit patients and improve healthcare.

Medical statistician wins best presentation at RSS Young Statisticians Meeting

Usama Ali, medical statistician at the Centre for Statistics in Medicine (CSM) wowed the crowd at the Royal Statistical Society’s (RSS) 2017 Young Statisticians Meeting, winning best presentation for his work preventing falls in hospitals.

Supporting patient safety through best-practice trial design

UK statisticians and trialists reach out to the clinical trial community in an awareness-raising paper published this week as a first step in changing practice. They promote the use of adaptive designs in early-phase clinical trials to improve trial efficiency, which will benefit patients.

Quote from Iveta Simera "This award is a fantastic recognition, not only for the whole EQUATOR team but also for all those who support us in our efforts."

EQUATOR Network honoured by the Council of Science Editors

We take great pride in announcing that the EQUATOR Network has won the Council for Science Editors’ 2017 Award for Meritorious Achievement.

Celebrating International Clinical Trials Day 2017

International Clinical Trials Day helps to raise awareness of clinical trials and recognises everyone involved in and affected by trials – researchers, clinicians, statisticians, patient participants, funders and the wider public.

On the left is a head-and-shoulders photograph of Doug Altman, an older White man with grey hair and a grey beard wearing a blue collared shirt. On the right is a head-and-shoulders photograph of Sallie Lamb, a White woman with blond hair wearing a dark blue shirt.

CSM, past and future

Celebrating 20 years of excellence with Doug Altman and welcoming the future.

Metal-on-metal revision research takes centre-stage at world’s largest orthopaedic conference

A new study on patient outcomes after metal-on-metal hip replacement revision surgery has been selected as part of a prestigious 'Game Changers' session at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) annual meeting.

NIHR Fellowships for NDORMS

Award to M Sanni Ali for work on bone fragility in diabetic patients