Centre for Statistics in Medicine
Latest news from CSM
DARWIN EU® success leads to expansion
3 May 2023
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) initiative DARWIN EU® has completed its first studies and is calling for new data partners
Data-Driven research will map COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness in Brazil and Pakistan
5 April 2023
A study to monitor the safety and effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccine in the Global South, has received funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Grand Challenges initiative.
Jonathan Cook elected as Society for Clinical Trials board member
3 April 2023
Associate Professor Jonathan Cook has been elected to the Society for Clinical Trials (SCT) board.
NIHR Fellowships awarded to NDORMS researchers
17 March 2023
Congratulations to Eileen Morrow and Mae Chester-Jones who have received NIHR Doctoral Fellowships
OCTRU - delivering answers to important clinical questions
7 March 2023
The Oxford Clinical Trials Research Unit (OCTRU) has received NIHR benchmarking results and offers excellent value for money according to the report
New cost-benefit model of Fracture Liaison Services helping healthcare decision makers
9 February 2023
The newly developed model to estimate the health benefits and budget impact of Fracture Liaison Services (FLS) finds them highly effective in shaping positive patient outcomes, and will help drive policy decisions.
Sara Khalid named Associate Professor at NDORMS
2 February 2023
The University of Oxford has awarded the title of Associate Professor to Dr Sara Khalid as part of its recognition of excellence awards.
Botnar researchers awarded Fellowships
9 January 2023
Arani Vivekanantham has been awarded an NIHR Doctoral Fellowship and a Versus Arthritis Clinical Research Fellowship, and Rachel Kuo was awarded an NIHR Doctoral Research Fellowship.
Patients like me
1 November 2022
What can patients learn from the experiences of people like them who’ve already had a hip replacement? A new tool called ‘Patients like me’ helps answer some of the questions about pain, complications and how long the prosthesis might last.
Study reveals new evidence on rare blood-clotting condition after covid-19 vaccination
28 October 2022
Researchers from NDORMS at the University of Oxford have investigated claims that some adenovirus-based COVID-19 vaccines increase the risk of rare blood clots compared to their mRNA-based counterparts.
Daniel Prieto-Alhambra receives ISPE award for COVID-19 research
1 September 2022
Daniel Prieto-Alhambra has been awarded the 'Special ISPE award for contributions to public health associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.'
Junqing Xie awarded by the International Society for Pharmacoepidemiology
30 August 2022
Congratulations to Junqing (Frank) Xie who has been awarded the Stanley A. Edlavitch Award from The International Society for Pharmacoepidemiology (ISPE).
Higher risk of blood clots in COVID-19 outpatients, largely reduced after vaccination
19 August 2022
Researchers at NDORMS have studied the association between ambulatory COVID-19 and short-term risk of venal thrombosis and the clinical and genetic risk factors predisposing them to developing post–COVID-19 thrombosis.
OCTRU collaboration boosts understanding of COVID vaccine response
21 July 2022
Working with researchers across multiple universities, the Oxford Clinical Trials Unit (OCTRU) played a key role in delivering results of the national VROOM trial (Vaccine Response On Off Methotrexate).
COVID-19’s high blood clot risk
14 May 2022
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.
Rethinking pain management after injury
6 May 2022
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.
Oxford leads global cross-collaboration Covid research
14 March 2022
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
11 February 2022
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.
NDORMS researchers honoured in the Recognition Of Distinction Scheme 2021
17 December 2021
Sally Hopewell and John Christianson have been awarded the title of ‘Full Professor’ in the University of Oxford’s Recognition Of Distinction Scheme 2021.
Vaccination safety: generating accurate evidence is the clearest path to creating public trust
25 November 2021
A new study shows that a vaccine surveillance method in observational data may generate high number of false positives
New advanced analytics research to deliver next level of insights into COVID-19
11 November 2021
NDORMS is leading one of nine new studies awarded total of £2m to use large-scale linked data to address priority research questions that will improve understanding of the pandemic and inform the continued policy response.
Oxford researchers call for an urgent re-evaluation of “weak” opioid safety profile
22 October 2021
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.
New guidelines to improve reporting standards of studies that investigate causal mechanisms
21 September 2021
Researchers at NDORMS have developed a new set of guidelines for reporting mediation analyses in health research.
COVID-19 vaccines shown to reduce infection by 90% in nursing homes
18 August 2021
A new collaborative study between the Catalan Institute of Health, the Public Health Secreatariat of Catalonia, and the Centre for Statistics in Medicine, NDORMS, at the University of Oxford have confirmed that COVID-19 vaccines greatly reduce infections, hospitalisations and mortality for up to 6 months.
COVID-19 vaccine safety monitoring should account for age, gender, and database differences
14 June 2021
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.
Professor Dani Prieto-Alhambra elected to ISPE Board of Directors
11 June 2021
Dani Prieto-Alhambra, Professor of Pharmaco- and Device Epidemiology at NDORMS, has been elected as the Academic representative for Europe and Africa on the International Society of Pharmaco-Epidemiology Board of Directors.
3,400 different medicines used globally to treat COVID-19
11 May 2021
Insufficient data, and misleading recommendations led to significant early heterogeneity in global COVID-19 patient management, according to recent BMJ study
Understanding the first wave of COVID-19 and implications for tackling the ongoing pandemic: evidence from 5.5 million people from Catalonia, Spain
3 February 2021
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 set to benefit from new guidelines on Artificial Intelligence health solutions
10 September 2020
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.
Grant towards OHDSI Global Research on COVID-19 treatments
10 August 2020
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.
Six-month outcomes after treatment for COVID-19 on intensive care units in England
24 July 2020
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
18 June 2020
Reporting at EULAR, researchers found that opioid use by patients with rheumatic and musculoskeletal pain was on the rise in Europe.
Could do better: clinical trial reporting fails to live up to the mark
8 June 2020
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.
COVID-19 prognosis and prediction models for medical decision-making are flawed, say researchers
7 April 2020
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.
Oxford-led research describes the safety profile and potential harms of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin
2 April 2020
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.
Sponsored place available for the Randomised Controlled Trials Course
13 February 2020
The inaugural Doug Altman scholarship will be offered to an LMIC (lower-to-middle-income country) applicant or a student.
Flu antiviral has bigger benefits for sicker, older patients
12 December 2019
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
5 November 2019
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
13 August 2019
YSM prize awarded to CSM Statistician Jamie Stokes
7 August 2019
How do you explain your research to the public?
13 June 2019
... 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
5 June 2019
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
16 May 2019
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.
Early-career researchers praise EQUATOR Publication School
17 April 2019
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
1 February 2019
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
17 January 2019
OCTRU/CSM have recruited a new lead statistician to join the team.
NDORMS part of large European project on health data and evidence network
22 November 2018
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
6 November 2018
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.
New clinical tool will help patients with acute ankle sprain
6 November 2018
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.