Table 4.
Reporting of Patient Characteristics and Efforts to Assess and Control Confounding
| Quinidine (Afib) (n = 6) | Trial of Labor (Breech) (n = 6) | Colposuspension 1 (Incontinence) (n = 6) | Colposuspension 2 (Incontinence) (n = 4) | Early Discharge (Childbirth) (n = 4) | Hip Screw (Hip Fx) (n = 5) | Local Anesthesia (CEA) (n = 11) | HSG (Infertility) (n = 6) | |
| Patient Characterization* | ||||||||
| A = 4 | A = 3 | A = 5 | A = 3 | A = 0 | A = 3 | A = 7 | A = 1 | |
| B = 2 | B = 3 | B = 1 | B = 1 | B = 3 | B = 1 | B = 4 | B = 3 | |
| C = 0 | C = 0 | C = 0 | C = 0 | C = 1 | C = 1 | C = 0 | C = 0 | |
| D = 0 | D = 0 | D = 0 | D = 0 | D = 0 | D = 0 | D = 0 | D = 2 | |
| Treatment Selection↖ | ||||||||
| A = 0 | A = 0 | A = 0 | A = 0 | A = 1 | A = 1 | A = 5 | A = 3 | |
| B = 0 | B = 0 | B = 0 | B = 0 | B = 1 | B = 0 | B = 3 | B = 0 | |
| C = 0 | C = 6 | C = 5 | C = 4 | C = 2 | C = 0 | C = 1 | C = 1 | |
| D = 6 | D = 0 | D = 1 | D = 0 | D = 0 | D = 4 | D = 2 | D = 2 | |
| Comparison of risk factors* | ||||||||
| A = 0 | A = 2 | A = 5 | A = 3 | A = 0 | A = 1 | A = 5 | A = 1 | |
| B = 3 | B = 3 | B = 1 | B = 0 | B = 3 | B = 2 | B = 6 | B = 2 | |
| C = 0 | C = 1 | C = 0 | C = 0 | C = 1 | C = 0 | C = 0 | C = 0 | |
| D = 3 | D = 0 | D = 0 | D = 1 | D = 0 | D = 2 | D = 0 | D = 3 | |
| Statistical Adjustment‡ | ||||||||
| A | A = 0 | A = 0 | A = 0 | A = 0 | A = 1 | A = 0 | A = 1 | A = 0 |
| B | B = 1 | B = 3 | B = 1 | B = 2 | B = 0 | B = 2 | B = 0 | B = 0 |
| C | C = 5 | C = 3 | C = 5 | C = 2 | C = 3 | C = 3 | C = 10 | C = 6 |
Afib = Atrial fibrillation
Hip Fx = Hip Fracture
CEA = Carotid Endarterectomy
HSG = Hysterosalpingography
* Characterizations or comparisons were given an 'A' if they included least one element in each of the following categories: demographics, medical history, and clinical assessment. They were given a 'B' if they included one medical history or clinical assessment variable, a 'C' if they included one demographic variable, and a 'D' if there were no characterization or comparisons.
↖ Treatment selection methods were given an 'A' if they probably reduced confounding, a 'B' if the effect on confounding was uncertain, a 'C' if confounding was probably increased, and a 'D' if they were not described.
† Statistical adjustment was given an 'A' for using multiple regression, 'B' for using stratification, and 'C' for no adjustment.