ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: Bleeding is increasingly considered an important end point in clinical platelet transfusion studies. Accurate recording and adjudication into well-defined bleeding grades, however, remains a major challenge. METHODS: We developed a computer algorithm for automatic adjudication. The algorithm's results were compared to those of three independent adjudicators. RESULTS: For one of 1186 bleeding days, the clinical report form (CRF) was filled out incorrectly, and the algorithm therefore missed one grade-1 skin bleed. For two bleeding days, the adjudicators incorrectly classified a grade-2 skin bleed as grade-1 while the algorithm correctly classified these days. The algorithm saved approximately six person-hours of adjudication time for the adjudication of 1186 days from 60 patients. DISCUSSION: The algorithm can be an invaluable tool for adjudicating large amounts of bleeding data.
