Cluster Randomized Trials in Comparative Effectiveness Research Randomizing Hospitals to Test Methods for Prevention of Healthcare-Associated Infections
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
COMPARATIVE EFFECTIVENESS Cluster Randomized Trials in Comparative Effectiveness Research Randomizing Hospitals to Test Methods for Prevention of Healthcare-Associated Infections Richard Platt, MD, MS,* Samuel U. Takvorian, AB,* Edward Septimus, MD,† Jason Hickok, MBA, RN,† Julia Moody, MS,† Jonathan Perlin, MD, PhD,† John A. Jernigan, MD, MS,‡ Ken Kleinman, ScD,* and Susan S. Huang, MD, MPH§ Results: Recruitment of hospitals is complete. Data collection will Background: The need for evidence about the effectiveness of end in Summer 2011. therapeutics and other medical practices has triggered new interest Conclusions: This trial takes advantage of existing personnel, pro- in methods for comparative effectiveness research. cedures, infrastructure, and information systems in a large integrated Objective: Describe an approach to comparative effectiveness re- hospital network to conduct a low-cost evaluation of prevention search involving cluster randomized trials in networks of hospitals, strategies under usual practice conditions. This approach is applica- health plans, or medical practices with centralized administrative ble to many comparative effectiveness topics in both inpatient and and informatics capabilities. ambulatory settings. Research Design: We discuss the example of an ongoing cluster randomized trial to prevent methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Key Words: cluster randomization, comparative effectiveness, MRSA prevention aureus (MRSA) infection in intensive care units (ICUs). The trial randomizes 45 hospitals to: (a) screening cultures of ICU admis- (Med Care 2010;48: S52–S57) sions, followed by Contact Precautions if MRSA-positive, (b) screening cultures of ICU admissions followed by decolonization if MRSA-positive, or (c) universal decolonization of ICU admissions without screening. n 2007, the Institute of Medicine’s (IOM) Roundtable on Subjects: All admissions to adult ICUs. IEvidence Based Medicine described a “learning healthcare Measures: The primary outcome is MRSA-positive clinical cultures system” as one that both generates and uses evidence to guide occurring Ն2 days following ICU admission. Secondary outcomes clinical decision-making.1 For evidence generation, it called include blood and urine infection caused by MRSA (and, separately, for a diverse array of methodologies to find out what works, all pathogens), as well as the development of resistance to decolo- under what circumstances, and for whom. Since then, interest nizing agents. in methods for conducting comparative effective research has grown substantially—most recently with the legislative man- date to create a national Patient Centered Outcomes Research From the *Department of Population Medicine, Harvard Medical School and Institute. Some have argued that as much as 10% of this new Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute, Boston, MA; †Hospital Corpora- funding should be directed toward methodological guidance tion of America, Nashville, TN; ‡Division of Healthcare Quality Promo- and innovation.2 Moreover, with the recent publication of the tion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA; and list of national priorities for comparative effectiveness re- §Division of Infectious Diseases and Health Policy Research Institute, search, there is heightened interest in matching priority re- University of California Irvine School of Medicine, Irvine, CA. 3 Supported by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (59 HMN search topics with appropriate methodologies. HHSA290-2005-0033ϭTO11), with supplemental funding from the Although methodological advances have improved the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC Prevention Epicenters validity of nonexperimental methods—including systematic Program, U01CI000344). reviews, and quasiexperimental observational studies—ex- R.P. has received research grants from Sanofi-Pasteur, GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer, and TAP Pharmaceuticals in the past 2 years. perimental methods, in particular randomized clinical trials The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors, and do (RCTs), are still considered the most robust method for not necessarily represent the official position of the Centers for Disease generating comparative effectiveness evidence and will un- Control and Prevention. doubtedly remain an important component of an advanced Reprints: Richard Platt, MD, MS, Department of Population Medicine, 133 Brook- 4 line Avenue, 6th Floor, Boston, MA 02215. E-mail: [email protected]. comparative effectiveness research framework. The IOM Copyright © 2010 by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins corroborated this view in its national priorities list for com- ISSN: 0025-7079/10/4800-0052 parative effectiveness research by recommending the use of S52 | www.lww-medicalcare.com Medical Care • Volume 48, Number 6 Suppl 1, June 2010 Medical Care • Volume 48, Number 6 Suppl 1, June 2010 Cluster Randomization in Comparative Effectiveness Research RCTs for 49 of 100 research topics, by far the most fre- health information can be used to assess baseline status, quently recommended methodology.3 monitor implementation, and measure outcomes. Despite their strengths, conventional RCTs have impor- We illustrate some of the potential of cluster random- tant limitations. Although they are excellent tools for judging ization in comparative effectiveness research through a cur- efficacy (performance under ideal conditions), they often fail rent trial which compares strategies to prevent methicillin- to judge effectiveness (performance under conditions of ac- resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections in tual use). This is because most RCTs require more standard- hospital ICUs—one of the high priority topics identified by ization and a higher level of medical care than occurs in the IOM Committee on Comparative Effectiveness Research practice. In addition, generalizability may be lost because Prioritization. This example demonstrates several of the de- participants in RCTs are often not fully representative of the sign strengths of cluster randomized trials that make them eventual target group. Furthermore, RCTs are often very likely to generate comparative effectiveness evidence in an costly and time-consuming to implement. For example, the efficient and timely manner, thus enabling swift policy action. ALLHAT study of initial treatment of hypertension, some- Randomized Evaluation of Decolonization vs times cited as an example of a pragmatic clinical trial,2 cost over $80 million and took 8 years to complete.5 Universal Clearance to Eliminate Methicillin Cluster randomized trials are RCTs which randomize Resistant S. Aureus (REDUCE-MRSA) Trial groups (clusters) rather than individuals. Cluster randomiza- Background tion is the only feasible method for randomization when an MRSA has become the most common cause of hospi- intervention must be applied to an entire group, such as a tal-acquired infection in many US hospitals. Recent national community-based health promotion initiative. They are also surveys estimate that 5% to 7% of inpatients harbor the only method for evaluating interventions for which the MRSA,11–13 with higher prevalence in ICUs.14 Because status of individuals is linked, for instance when herd immu- MRSA infections are associated with increased mortality, nity for contagious illness is an important consideration. costs, and length of stay,15,16 hospitals have implemented a Cluster randomization may also be desirable in some in- variety of quality improvement strategies to reduce hospital- stances in which it would be possible to randomize individ- associated MRSA disease, usually targeting high-risk patients uals.6,7 For instance, many organizations use formularies to (eg, ICU or surgical patients). Three dominant prevention guide prescribing choices when there is more than one ther- strategies have emerged: apeutically equivalent agent. Specific agents may be included 1. Active screening and isolation. This involves obtaining or excluded for reasons unrelated to therapeutic effect; ex- anterior nares surveillance cultures from all patients at the amples include cost and streamlined contracting. Randomiza- time of ICU admission to identify carriers.14,17,18 Contact tion of formularies to include one or another preferred drug Precautions (private room, if available, and gloves and among those believed to be equivalent can yield balanced gowns for patient care) are instituted for patients with groups of individuals exposed to the different agents, allow- positive surveillance cultures and for those previously ing evaluation of comparative effectiveness under conditions identified as MRSA-positive during prior admissions. Sev- of actual use. Statistical techniques that use information from eral states mandate MRSA screening, although most do all participating individuals while accounting for the ten- not require subsequent contact isolation.19,20 A resource- dency of individuals in a cluster to respond similarly (intra- intensive alternative, practiced more widely in Europe, cluster correlation) minimize the loss of statistical power 7 uses Contact Precautions for all patients deemed at high associated with randomizing groups rather than individuals. risk (eg, recently hospitalized in a high MRSA-prevalence Cluster randomized trials have several advantages in country) until they are demonstrated to be culture-nega- comparative effectiveness studies, including those evaluating tive.21,22 8,9 therapeutic interventions and policies. First, by applying 2. Active screening