Acute cardiac care & resuscitation
Selection bias introduced in a randomized clinical trial due to employee instigated deletion of newborn resuscitation videos
Authors' conclusion
The introduction of anonymous employee deletion of videos resulted in systematic differences among included newborns, strongly suggesting a selection bias. The trial was terminated halfway without power to conclude on outcomes.
Study context
- Population
- Newborns of gestational age ≥34 weeks in the NeoBeat trial at Stavanger University Hospital, Norwaynewborns enrolled before and after implementation of the anonymous opt-out solution · enrolled before anonymous opt-out solution 7,343/10,362 (71%) · enrolled after anonymous opt-out solution 2,566/4,417 (58%)
- Participants
- 171 vs 66
- Comparison
- proxies for severity of birth asphyxia before and after introduction of the anonymous opt-out solution
- beforen = 171
- aftern = 66
Methodological detailscomparison of proxies for severity of birth asphyxia before and after introduction of an anonymous opt-out solution
- Comparison of proxies for severity of birth asphyxia before and after introduction of an anonymous opt-out solution
Primary result
As reported in the abstract
Cases lost to anonymous deletion request
Before
0
events
After
14
events
- Time of birth available (before)
- 171
- Video available (after)
- 80
Further findings
Participant characteristics, Apgar scores, duration of ventilation, admissions
- No differences in participant characteristics
- Significantly higher Apgar scores, shorter duration of ventilation, and fewer admissions after implementation of the anonymous opt-out solution
Original publication
Selection bias introduced in a randomized clinical trial due to employee instigated deletion of newborn resuscitation videos. Resuscitation. Published 1 September 2026. doi:10.
Summarised from the published abstract; every number is checked against it