How to Design and Perform your Clinical Studies in Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology, ESCMID Postgraduate Education Course


7 - 8 November 2014, Tübingen, Germany

Organisers
  • ESCMID Study Group for Bloodstream Infections and Sepsis (ESGBIS)
  • ESCMID Study Group for Infections in the Elderly (ESGIE)
Course Coordinators
  • Leonard Leibovici, Tel Aviv, Israel
  • Evelina Tacconelli, Tübingen, Germany
Course Objectives

Many of the clinical studies performed in infectious diseases and clinical microbiology suffer from severe methodological shortcomings. These limit the
extent of conclusions that can be gained from the study and result in squandering of resources. The purpose of this workshop is to review the correct
methodology and the common pitfalls in the most common designs that are used in clinical studies: randomised controlled trials, systematic reviews and
meta-analysis, studies looking at risk factors for a bad outcome, before-after (ecological) studies and analyses of very large databases. The main activity
will concentrate on hands-on workshops and clinical questions or protocols sent beforehand by the participants. Faculty members with vast experience
in the field will work with the participants in small group sessions to improve the methodology of the projects and learn from the strong and weak points.

The participants will be asked to send a clinical research question that is of interest to them. Alternatively a protocol or the outline of a study that was performed can be sent. The faculty will select a few of those for
in-depth analysis within the workshops.

Course Venue

Universitätsklinikum Tübingen
Otfried-Müller-Strasse 12
72076 Tübingen
Germany

Target Audience

30 – 60 residents or experts in clinical microbiology or infectious diseases involved in clinical research, Master or PhD students in epidemiology interested in infectious diseases.

Contact Person

Prof Leonard Leibovici
Head, Dept. of Medicine E
Beilinson Hospital
49100 Petah-Tiqva
Israel

Phone +972 393 765 01
Fax +972 393 765 12


Administrative Secretariat

Tanya Babich
Unit of Research, Dept. of Medicine E
Beilinson Hospital
49100 Petah-Tiqva
Israel

Phone +972 393 773 80
Fax +972 391 946 65

Course Programme

Presentations are availabe in the ESCMID Online Lecture Library.

Friday, 7 November 2014

09:30 – 09:45 Welcome and opening remarks. Evelina Tacconelli
09:45 – 10:30 Clinical studies looking at bad outcomes in bacterial                                                    infections: best methodology. Jesús Rodríguez Baño
10:30 – 11:15 Cluster randomised controlled trials. Marc Bonten
11:15 – 12:00 Investigator initiated randomised controlled trials. Mical Paul
12:00 – 12:45 Studies examining complex interventions. Petra Gastmeier
12:45 – 14:15 Lunch
14:15 – 17:30 Three parallel workshops:
                           - Cohort and case control studies looking at outcomes
                           - Studies examining complex interventions
                           - Randomised controlled trials

Saturday, 8 November 2014

09:30 – 09:45 Ethical aspects of clinical studies in infectious diseases.
                          Leonard Leibovici
09:45 – 10:30 Before-after, ecological studies: how to do and analyse them                                      correctly? Stephan Harbarth
10:30 – 11:15 Looking for risk factors for resistance: the correct methodology.                                 Evelina Tacconelli
11:15 – 12:00 Systematic reviews and meta-analysis: how to do it right?
                          Leonard Leibovici
12:00 – 14:00 Lunch
14:00 – 17:15 Three parallel workshops:
                           - Analysis of before-after studies
                           - Risk factors for resistance: the correct methodology
                           - Systematic reviews and meta-analysis

Faculty Members
  • Marc Bonten, Utrecht, The Netherlands
  • Petra Gastmeier, Berlin, Germany
  • Stephan Harbarth, Geneva, Switzerland
  • Leonard Leibovici, Tel Aviv, Israel
  • Mical Paul, Haifa, Israel
  • Jesús Rodríguez Baño, Seville, Spain
  • Evelina Tacconelli, Tübingen, Germany