Over the past year, TriNetX has become an integral tool for conducting clinical research at the University of Iowa.
TriNetX allows our users to collaborate, enhance their study design, accelerate the patient recruitment process, and bring new therapies to market faster.
To honor our most frequent users, we have awarded certificates to three individuals with the most queries from each of the three categories of users: faculty, staff, and students. Learn how these users are utilizing TriNetX to make their research more accurate and to accelerate their findings.
Kevin Cheung
Category: Student
Number of queries last year: 477
Describe your research project
My research project is determining whether individuals who use cholesterol-lowering statin drugs are at an increased risk for developing eczema/atopic dermatitis. Statins have been widely prescribed for prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease and disorders of lipid metabolism. While there have been studies and reports on dermatological conditions arising from use of statins, the incidence and prevalence of atopic dermatitis has not been documented.
The goal of the study is to retrospectively evaluate patients admitted to the University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics to determine the prevalence of atopic dermatitis in patients taking statins and the incidence over the period of the study to see if there is increased risk of developing the skin condition due to taking the drug.
What were you using the queries for? (existing/new grant, publication, etc.)
I am using the queries to conduct my retrospective study. By utilizing the parameters in the queries, I am able to create my cohort with specific inclusion and exclusion criteria. The option for data request also allows me to obtain more information not available in the standard interface, which enables me to perform multivariate analysis and evaluate several additional factors that may play into my study hypothesis.
Ultimately, I hope to obtain reliable statistical information on statin use and atopic dermatitis that will be published and help guide care providers in their evaluation of risks when treating patients with cardiovascular disease and lipid disorders.
How has TriNetX helped your research?
TriNetX has essentially made my research possible. With just a few clicks, I am able to create a cohort of several thousand individuals. I feel comfortable with the results from the database because I have a lot of control over the parameters for selecting the patients I want to include, and the large population of patients increases the statistical power of my analysis. TriNetX has been a powerful tool in creating the data I am using for my research.
Jeri Sieren, RN
Category: Staff
Number of queries in last year: 112
Describe your research project
I am a research nurse coordinator in the Department of Neurology. I have utilized TriNetX to complete feasibility questionnaire information for research studies.
What were you using the queries for? (existing/new grant, publication, etc.)
NeuroNEXT network new proposal grant submission site interest questionnaires and clinical trial feasibility questionnaires.
How has TriNetX helped your research?
Prior to TriNetX, our group at times had to rely on “best-estimates” of a patient population and our ability to recruit subjects into new studies. A TriNetX search will provide the exact number of patients with a specific diagnosis who have been seen at the University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics within a specified time frame.
Also, a TriNetX search can be tailored to include parameters excluding patients that do not meet protocol specific inclusion/exclusion criteria. We have also utilized TriNetX in compiling race/ethnicity tables for studies. TriNetX has been very helpful in taking the guess-work out of completing these questionnaires as well as giving us insight as to whether we will be able to successfully recruit subjects into a clinical trial.
Marco Hefti, MD
Category: Faculty
Number of queries in last year: 88
Describe your research project
I have two major projects for which I use TriNetX – one looks at predictors of neurologic outcomes in infants with congenital heart disease and the other at reactivation of developmental pathways in patients with neurodegenerative disease.
What were you using the queries for? (existing/new grant, publication, etc.)
I mostly use the queries for new grant applications to prove feasibility of studies and have an idea as to necessary costs/resources to carry out a given project.
How has TriNetX helped your research?
It has saved as significant amount of time in preparing and submitting grant proposals, both NIH and to other funding agencies and also makes it much easier to judge how difficult a particular study will be here at Iowa with a minimum at work.