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World J Methodol. Mar 20, 2024; 14(1): 90590
Published online Mar 20, 2024. doi: 10.5662/wjm.v14.i1.90590
Can propensity score matching replace randomized controlled trials?
Matthias Yi Quan Liau, En Qi Toh, Shamir Muhamed, Surya Varma Selvakumar, Vishalkumar Girishchandra Shelat
Matthias Yi Quan Liau, En Qi Toh, Shamir Muhamed, Surya Varma Selvakumar, Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 308232, Singapore
Vishalkumar Girishchandra Shelat, Department of General Surgery, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore 308433, Singapore
Vishalkumar Girishchandra Shelat, Surgical Science Training Centre, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore 308433, Singapore
Author contributions: Liau MYQ, Toh EQ, Muhamed S, Selvakumar SV and Shelat VG designed the research study; Liau MYQ, Toh EQ, Muhamed S, Selvakumar SV and Shelat VG performed the research; Liau MYQ, Toh EQ, Muhamed S, Selvakumar SV and Shelat VG analyzed the data and wrote the manuscript; All authors have read and approve the final manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Vishalkumar Girishchandra Shelat, FEBS, FRCS, MBBS, MMed, Adjunct Associate Professor, Department of General Surgery, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, 11 Jalan Tan Tock Seng, Singapore 308433, Singapore. vgshelat@gmail.com
Received: December 7, 2023
Peer-review started: December 7, 2023
First decision: December 23, 2023
Revised: January 5, 2024
Accepted: February 23, 2024
Article in press: February 23, 2024
Published online: March 20, 2024
Processing time: 90 Days and 17 Hours
Core Tip

Core Tip: Several studies in the literature compare treatment effect estimates in propensity score matching studies and randomized controlled trials (RCTs), but few employ both methods synergistically in determining treatment outcomes. This is a first review to report and provide examples on how propensity score matching can be integrated into RCTs to refine randomization, account for non-compliance to protocol and improve external validity to produce more comprehensive and generalizable evidence for informed clinical decision making.