--- title: "Full Emulation Pipeline" format: html: embed-resources: true docx: default execute: echo: true warning: false message: false --- ## Goal This notebook puts the entire target trial emulation pipeline together in one place: 1. Simulate the observational data. 2. Define eligibility at time zero. 3. Clone eligible patients into treatment arms. 4. Apply censoring rules at the 2-hour mark. 5. Compute IPTW + IPCW weights. 6. Estimate the per-protocol effect. Then we compare all four methods we have learned so far. ## Setup ```{r} suppressPackageStartupMessages({ library(dplyr) library(gt) library(tibble) library(tidyr) }) source("../R/simulate_icu_cohort.R") source("../R/simulate_icu_cohort_longitudinal.R") source("../R/estimate_naive_vasopressor_mortality_effect.R") source("../R/estimate_standardized_vasopressor_mortality_effect.R") source("../R/estimate_iptw_vasopressor_mortality_effect.R") source("../R/clone_trial_arms.R") source("../R/estimate_iptw_and_ipcw_effect.R") ``` ## Step 1: Simulate Data We generate both the cross-sectional and longitudinal datasets using the same seed. ```{r} icu_data <- simulate_icu_cohort(n_patients = 1000, seed = 20260531) longitudinal_data <- simulate_icu_cohort_longitudinal(n_patients = 1000, seed = 20260531) ``` ## Step 2: Cross-Sectional Estimates ### Naive comparison ```{r} naive_analysis <- estimate_naive_vasopressor_mortality_effect(icu_data) ``` ### Outcome regression standardization ```{r} standardized_analysis <- estimate_standardized_vasopressor_mortality_effect(icu_data) ``` ### Cross-sectional IPTW ```{r} iptw_analysis <- estimate_iptw_vasopressor_mortality_effect(icu_data) ``` ## Step 3: Longitudinal Emulation ### Clone and censor ```{r} clones <- clone_trial_arms(longitudinal_data) ``` ### Compute IPTW + IPCW weights and estimate effect ```{r} longitudinal_analysis <- estimate_iptw_and_ipcw_effect(clones$clone_baseline) ``` ## Four-Way Comparison We now extract the risk difference and risk ratio from each method and place them in one table. ```{r} # Naive naive_rd <- naive_analysis$mortality_effect_estimates |> filter(estimate == "Naive risk difference") |> pull(value) naive_rr <- naive_analysis$mortality_effect_estimates |> filter(estimate == "Naive risk ratio") |> pull(value) # Standardized std_rd <- standardized_analysis$standardized_mortality_effect_estimates |> filter(estimate == "Standardized risk difference") |> pull(value) std_rr <- standardized_analysis$standardized_mortality_effect_estimates |> filter(estimate == "Standardized risk ratio") |> pull(value) # Cross-sectional IPTW iptw_rd <- iptw_analysis$iptw_mortality_effect_estimates |> filter(estimate == "IPTW risk difference") |> pull(value) iptw_rr <- iptw_analysis$iptw_mortality_effect_estimates |> filter(estimate == "IPTW risk ratio") |> pull(value) # Longitudinal IPTW + IPCW long_rd <- longitudinal_analysis$weighted_effect_estimates |> filter(estimate == "IPTW + IPCW risk difference") |> pull(value) long_rr <- longitudinal_analysis$weighted_effect_estimates |> filter(estimate == "IPTW + IPCW risk ratio") |> pull(value) four_way <- tibble( method = c( "1. Naive observed comparison", "2. Outcome regression standardization", "3. Cross-sectional IPTW", "4. Longitudinal IPTW + IPCW (per-protocol)" ), risk_difference = c(naive_rd, std_rd, iptw_rd, long_rd), risk_ratio = c(naive_rr, std_rr, iptw_rr, long_rr) ) four_way |> gt() |> tab_header(title = "Four-Way Comparison of Effect Estimation Methods") |> cols_label( method = "Method", risk_difference = "Risk difference", risk_ratio = "Risk ratio" ) |> fmt_number(columns = c(risk_difference, risk_ratio), decimals = 3) ``` ## Interpretation ### What each method answers | Method | Question it answers | |--------|-------------------| | **Naive** | "What was the mortality difference between patients who did and did not receive early vasopressors?" | | **Standardization** | "What would the mortality risk be if everyone followed each strategy, holding the eligible population fixed?" | | **Cross-sectional IPTW** | "What is the effect of receiving early vasopressors versus not, reweighted to balance confounders?" | | **Longitudinal IPTW + IPCW** | "What is the per-protocol effect of the early vasopressor strategy versus the no early strategy, respecting the grace period and accounting for censoring?" | ### What to notice in the simulated data In the data-generating process, early vasopressors have a modest **protective** effect. 1. The **naive** estimate shows **harm** (positive risk difference, risk ratio > 1). This is because sicker patients are more likely to receive early vasopressors and more likely to die — confounding by indication. 2. **Standardization** and **cross-sectional IPTW** both move the estimate toward a **protective** direction, correcting for baseline confounding. 3. The **longitudinal IPTW + IPCW** estimate may differ slightly from cross-sectional IPTW because it: - Restricts to the per-protocol population (patients who could adhere through the 2-hour window) - Re-weights for informative censoring (patients censored due to protocol deviation or early death) - Respects the grace period as a longitudinal treatment assignment window None of the methods perfectly recover the true effect in a single finite sample, but the longitudinal method most closely emulates the target trial design. ## Assumption Checklist Every method above relies on assumptions. A quick checklist: | Assumption | Naive | Standardized | IPTW | IPTW + IPCW | |------------|-------|-------------|------|-------------| | No unmeasured confounding | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | | Positivity (every patient has some probability of each treatment) | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | | Correct model specification | N/A | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | | No informative censoring | N/A | N/A | N/A | ✅ | - **No unmeasured confounding**: We must have measured all variables that affect both treatment assignment and mortality. In a real study, this is never fully testable. - **Positivity**: Every patient must have a non-zero probability of receiving each treatment. Extreme propensity scores cause unstable weights. - **Correct model specification**: The logistic regression models must capture the true relationships between confounders, treatment, and outcome. - **No informative censoring (for IPCW)**: Censoring must be independent of the outcome given measured confounders. In practice, we use baseline-only IPCW here; a full analysis would include time-varying covariates. ## Next Steps From here, the tutorial can extend into several directions: 1. **Time-varying confounders**: Include `map_current` and `lactate_current` in the censoring model to handle post-baseline severity changes. 2. **Survival analysis**: Model time-to-death rather than 28-day binary mortality, using Kaplan-Meier or Cox models with IPCW. 3. **Sensitivity analysis**: Test how sensitive the results are to unmeasured confounding (e.g., E-values). 4. **`targets` pipeline**: Convert the analysis into a reproducible pipeline with dependency tracking. These topics move the project from a teaching scaffold toward a production-ready target trial emulation workflow.