title: Methods and issues in studies of CRE.
abstract: Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) are an emerging and troublesome group of pathogens. Risk factor studies, outcome studies, and randomized trials are three types of studies conducted to answer different types of questions regarding CRE. These studies pose different types of challenges. We discuss issues in the design and analyses of case-control studies, cohort studies, and randomized trials aimed to address various research questions regarding CRE.
authors.affiliation: a Center for Biostatistics in AIDS Research and the Department of Biostatistics , Harvard University , Boston , MA , USA.
authors.forename: Scott R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Evans
authors.affiliation: b Epidemiology and Public Health , University of Maryland , MD , USA.
authors.forename: Anthony D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Harris
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000493:pharmacokinetics* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000073182:Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae / Q000187:drug effects / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004756:Enterobacteriaceae Infections / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000382:microbiology*; D006801:Humans; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents
keywords: carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae; case-control study; cohort study; competing risk; confounding variable; control group; external control; lead-time bias; randomized trial