Using macros in microsoft excel to facilitate cleaning of research data

Bauzon, Justin; Murphy, Caleb J.; Wahi‐Gururaj, Sandhya

doi:10.1080/20009666.2021.1954282

Cited by 6 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…Building on previous studies [ 24 , 25 ], our results indicate that VBA and Excel can be used to automate the bulk image download process when applied to a specific medical imaging platform. This method has the potential to greatly accelerate the collection of large-scale data for research purposes, particularly in situations in which other programing languages such as Python and R are either not available or not practical.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 60%

An automated process for bulk downloading optical coherence tomography scans

Cnaany,

Lender,

Chowers

et al. 2024

Graefes Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol

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Objective To develop an automated method for efficiently downloading a large number of optical coherence tomography (OCT) scans obtained using the Heidelberg Spectralis (Heidelberg Engineering, Heidelberg, Germany) platform. Methods The electronic medical records and OCT scans were extracted for all patients with age-related macular degeneration treated at the Hadassah University Hospital Retina Clinic between 2010 and 2021. A macro was created using Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) and Microsoft Excel to automate the export process and anonymize the OCT scans in accordance with hospital policy. OCT scans were extracted as proprietary Heidelberg E2E files. Results The VBA macro was used to export a total of 94,789 E2E files from 2807 patient records, with an average processing time of 4.32 min per volume scan (SD: 3.57 min). The entire export process took a total of approximately 202 h to complete over a period of 24 days. In a smaller sample, using the macro to download the scans was significantly faster than manually downloading the scans, averaging 3.88 vs. 11.08 min/file, respectively (t = 8.59, p < 0.001). Finally, we found that exporting the files during both off-clinic and working hours resulted in significantly faster processing times compared to exporting the files solely during working hours (t = 5.77, p < 0.001). Conclusions This study demonstrates the feasibility of using VBA and Excel to automate the process for bulk downloading data from a specific medical imaging platform. The specific steps and techniques will likely vary depending on the software used and hospital constraints and should be determined for each application.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 60%

An automated process for bulk downloading optical coherence tomography scans

Cnaany,

Lender,

Chowers

et al. 2024

Graefes Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol

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“…6,12,19 Macros, or pre-programmed spreadsheet instructions, have been shown to efficiently clean datasets as well as decrease the likelihood of introducing errors related to manual input. 8 Algorithms and programs have also been designed that not only detect pre-existing errors in the process of data cleaning, but also remove and correct diagnosed errors. 14,18 Semi-automatic procedures may complement automatic procedures in data gathering that can further improve the quality of the extraction process with data cleaning.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Data Error Criteria (DEC) for retrospective studies: development and preliminary application

Buczek

Azar

Bauzon

et al. 2023

Journal of Investigative Medicine

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Retrospective chart review (RCR) studies rely on the collection and analysis of documented clinical data, a process that can be prone to errors. The aim of this study was to develop a defined set of criteria to evaluate RCR datasets for potential data errors. The Data Error Criteria (DEC) were developed by identifying data coding and data entry errors via literature review and then classifying them based on error types. Three components comprise the DEC: general errors, numerical-specific errors, and categorical variable-specific errors. Two reviewers independently applied these criteria via a manual review process to an existing de-identified database. A total of 10,168 errors were identified out of a total of 28,656 data points. The total number of errors included redundancies as certain errors may be included in multiple categories. These included 2515 general errors, 39 numerical-specific errors, and 7614 categorical variable-specific errors. Input-related categorical variable-specific errors occurred most frequently, followed by errors secondary to blank cells. Inter-rater agreement was near perfect for all categories. Identifying errors outlined in the DEC can be crucial for the data analysis stage as they can lead to inaccurate calculations and delay study timelines. The DEC offers a framework to evaluate datasets while reducing time and efforts needed to create high-quality RCR-related databases.

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“…An EB was determined to meet “symptomatic bradycardia” if systolic blood pressure (BP) was < 90 mmHg, diastolic BP was < 60 mmHg, or if patients showed clinical symptoms related to bradycardia as identified in their chart. Patients who experienced an EB during the drug effect window (DEW) were stratified into RAB+ (documented EB within DEW) and RAB− (no EB within DEW), which were verified by two separate reviewers using a Microsoft Excel macro [ 18 ].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Clinical Characteristics and Implications of Bradycardia in COVID-19 Patients Treated with Remdesivir: A Single-Center Retrospective Cohort Study

Schreiber

Bauzon

Batra³

et al. 2022

Clin Drug Investig

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Background and Objectives Remdesivir is an antiviral drug used to treat coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) with a relatively obscure cardiac effect profile. Previous studies have reported bradycardia associated with remdesivir, but few have examined its clinical characteristics. The objective of this study was to investigate remdesivir associated bradycardia and its associated clinical characteristics and outcomes. Methods This is a single-institution retrospective study that investigated bradycardia in 600 patients who received remdesivir for treatment of COVID-19. A total of 375 patients were included in the study after screening for other known causes of bradycardia (atrioventricular [AV] nodal blockers). All patients were analyzed for episodes of bradycardia from when remdesivir was initiated up to 5 days after completion, a time frame based on the drug’s putative elimination half-life. Univariate and multivariate statistical tests were conducted to analyze the data. Results The mean age of the sample was 56.63 ± 13.23 years. Of patients who met inclusion criteria, 49% were found to have bradycardia within 5 days of remdesivir administration. Compared to the cohort without a documented bradycardic episode, patients with bradycardia were significantly more likely to experience inpatient mortality (22% vs 12%, p = 0.01). The patients with bradycardia were found to have marginally higher serum D-dimer levels (5.2 vs 3.4 µg/mL, p = 0.05) and were more likely to undergo endotracheal intubation (28% vs 14%, p = 0.008). Male sex, hyperlipidemia, and bradycardia within 5 days of completing remdesivir were significant predictors of inpatient mortality. No significant differences in length of stay were found. Conclusions Bradycardia that occurs during or shortly after remdesivir treatment in COVID-19 patients may be associated with an increased rate of in-hospital mortality. However, COVID-19 and its cardiac complications cannot be excluded as potential contributors of bradycardia in the present study. Future studies are needed to further delineate the cardiac characteristics of COVID-19 and remdesivir. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40261-022-01187-x.

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Using macros in microsoft excel to facilitate cleaning of research data

Cited by 6 publications

References 10 publications

An automated process for bulk downloading optical coherence tomography scans

An automated process for bulk downloading optical coherence tomography scans

The Data Error Criteria (DEC) for retrospective studies: development and preliminary application

Clinical Characteristics and Implications of Bradycardia in COVID-19 Patients Treated with Remdesivir: A Single-Center Retrospective Cohort Study

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