Retrospective analyses

Retrospective analyses are an important method in clinical research in which existing data is examined in order to gain new insights or test hypotheses.

The term "retrospective" is derived from the Latin "retrospectare", which means "to look back", while "prospective", also from Latin, means "to look ahead".

In a retrospective study analysis, for example, existing questionnaires, medical records and data generated using other methods are analysed.

There are two types of retrospective cohort studies:

• retrospective case-control studies
• retrospective case series

Retrospective studies are often quicker and easier to conduct than prospective cohort studies and can be extremely valuable:

• the use of retrospective study design increases the chance of gaining new medical insights into a rare disease (case-control studies).
• to investigate causes of disease, evaluate treatment methods, analyse risk factors
• Assessment of who uses a particular therapy in reality
• Evaluation of long-term effects of treatments
• can be used to generate a study hypothesis to be investigated by randomised, controlled, prospective studies.

Advantages of retrospective analyses:

• Cost-effective and time-saving
• Ethically safe, as no new treatment is required
• Enables the investigation of rare diseases
• more oriented towards reality than an "exprimental" situation; data from daily practice is observed.

Disadvantages of retrospective analyses:

• Possible bias due to incomplete, missing or inaccurate data
• Difficulty in proving causal relationships
• Potential overestimation of treatment effects
• Susceptibility to recall bias in interviews
• are often "exploratory", i.e. not confirmatory in nature.

Retrospective analyses are a valuable instrument in clinical research. They make it possible to gain new insights from existing data and can serve as a basis for further studies. Despite their limitations, they play an important role in the optimisation of patient care and the further development of medical treatment methods.

Precise knowledge of current guidelines on methodology, procedures and search criteria for specific questions are the basis for meaningful and valid results.

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