International Journal of Epidemiology, Vol 28, 113-116, Copyright © 1999 by International Epidemiological Association
F Simondon and H Khodja
BACKGROUND: The measure of efficacy is optimally performed by randomized
controlled trials. However, low specificity of the judgement criteria is
known to bias toward lower estimation, while low sensitivity increases the
required sample size. A common technique for ensuring good specificity
without a drop in sensitivity is to use several diagnostic tests in
parallel, with each of them being specific. This approach is similar to the
more general situation of case-counting from multiple data sources, and
this paper explores the application of the capture-recapture method for the
analysis of the estimates of efficacy. METHOD: An illustration of this
application is derived from a study on the efficacy of pertussis vaccines
where the outcome was based on > or =21 days of cough confirmed by at
least one of three criteria performed independently for each subject:
bacteriology, serology, or epidemiological link. Log-linear methods were
applied to these data considered as three sources of information. RESULTS:
The best model considered the three simple effects and an interaction term
between bacteriology and epidemiological linkage. Among the 801 children
experiencing > or =21 days of cough, it was estimated that 93 cases were
missed, leading to a corrected total of 413 confirmed cases. The relative
vaccine efficacy estimated from the same model was 1.50 (95% confidence
interval: 1.24-1.82), similar to the crude estimate of 1.59 and confirming
better protection afforded by one of the two vaccines. CONCLUSION: This
method allows supporting analysis to interpret primary estimates of vaccine
efficacy.
ARTICLES
Capture-recapture method for estimating misclassification errors: application to the measurement of vaccine efficacy in randomized controlled trials
Infectious Diseases Research Unit, Institut Francais de Recherche Scientifique pour le Developpement en Cooperation, Montpellier, France.
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