Is OpenSDE an alternative for dedicated medical research databases? An example in coronary surgery

Area of Science:

• Clinical Informatics
• Health Data Management
• Database Design

Background:

• Conventional relational databases require new designs for each clinical study's data set.
• OpenSDE (Structured Data Entry) offers a flexible, intuitive approach to creating structured data collection databases and forms.
• This study evaluates OpenSDE as an alternative to conventional methods for data modeling, database creation, entry, and extraction.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess OpenSDE as a viable alternative to traditional database approaches for clinical study data management.
• To compare the intuitiveness, labor intensity, and flexibility of OpenSDE against conventional methods.
• To evaluate the effectiveness of OpenSDE in data modeling, database creation, data entry, and query execution.

Main Methods:

• Developed a database and entry forms using OpenSDE and MSAccess for coronary surgery data.
• Utilized the Adult Cardiac Surgery Data Set from the Society of Thoracic Surgeons.
• Entered data for 52 cases and designed/executed nine queries on both OpenSDE and MSAccess databases.

Main Results:

• OpenSDE provided a more intuitive and less labor-intensive experience for data model design and form creation.
• Both OpenSDE and MSAccess databases effectively accommodated the data set.
• OpenSDE facilitated more flexible data entry, and queries yielded comparable, correct results with similar effort.

Conclusions:

• OpenSDE is a considerable alternative to conventional approaches for prospective studies with well-defined data sets.
• The system simplifies data management tasks, including modeling, entry, and querying.
• OpenSDE enhances efficiency and user experience in clinical data collection.