Target trial emulation for comparative effectiveness research with observational data: Promise and challenges for studying medications for opioid use disorder
Author Department
Medicine; Healthcare Quality
Document Type
Article, Peer-reviewed
Publication Date
3-2024
Abstract
Medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) increase retention in care and decrease mortality during active treatment; however, information about the comparative effectiveness of different forms of MOUD is sparse. Observational comparative effectiveness studies are subject to many types of bias; a robust framework to minimize bias would improve the quality of comparative effectiveness evidence. This paper discusses the use of target trial emulation as a framework to conduct comparative effectiveness studies of MOUD with administrative data. Using examples from our planned research project comparing buprenorphine-naloxone and extended-release naltrexone with respect to the rates of MOUD discontinuation, we provide a primer on the challenges and approaches to employing target trial emulation in the study of MOUD.
Keywords: causal inference; emulated trial; observational research; opioids; substance use; target trial emulation.
Recommended Citation
Christine PJ, Lodi S, Hsu HE, Bovell-Ammon B, Yan S, Bernson D, Novo P, Lee JD, Rotrosen J, Liebschutz J, Walley AY, Larochelle MR. Target trial emulation for comparative effectiveness research with observational data: Promise and challenges for studying medications for opioid use disorder. Addiction. 2024 Mar 22. doi: 10.1111/add.16473. Epub ahead of print.
PMID
38519819