Editor’s highlights from the Journal of Comparative Effectiveness Research – 2019 round-up

Written by Laura Dormer, Editor

In this Editor’s highlights piece, I have picked out some of the top papers from across 2019. I hope you enjoy!

Welcome to my round-up of some of the great content that featured in the Journal of Comparative Effectiveness Research throughout 2019. It was a great year for the journal, with submissions increasing to their highest numbers since launch (and up by 30% on 2018 submissions)! Based on the quality of the papers we are receiving, the journal is increasing in frequency to 18 issues/year in 2020, which is a great testament to the high-quality content we receive from researchers across the globe.

In this Editor’s highlights piece, I have picked out some of the top papers from across 2019. I hope you enjoy!


The most read article of 2019 was by Osorio et al., who developed a decision tree model to estimate 1-year hospital costs associated with an index and potential repeat paroxysmal atrial fibrillation ablation procedure using two generations of radiofrequency ablation catheters, along with a second-generation cryoballoon catheter. With atrial fibrillation representing a significant burden to the US healthcare system, studies of this sort are important when considering possible strategies to minimize costs.

>>Find out more in the full article


Also highly read was a research article that appeared in the April issue, in which Zivadinov et al. compared the real-world effectiveness of teriflunomide versus dimethyl fumarate in patients with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis, using data collected across several multiple sclerosis centers in the USA — the Teri-RADAR study. Head-to-head clinical trials in this area are lacking, so retrospective real-world studies could provide important information when making treatment choices for patients.

>>Find out more in the full article


Readership is always a great indicator of top content; however, for a more immediate indicator of impact, the Journal of Comparative Effectiveness Research is integrated with Altmetric, with each article receiving a score reflecting the quantity and reach of the attention it has received (such as on social media, in policy/patent documents, and in news, blogs and other sources). Using this metric, the top article from 2019 was the research article by Muntoni et al., describing the initial demographic characteristics of the STRIDE registry population — an ongoing, multicenter registry providing real-world evidence regarding ataluren use in patients with nonsense mutation Duchenne muscular dystrophy in clinical practice — an important treatment development for patients with this rare disease.

>>Find out more in the full article


In conclusion, I would like to thank all the readers, authors and Editorial Board members who contributed to the journal in 2019, and I look forward to working with them in 2020. 

I’d like to wish all our The Evidence Base® readers a happy and healthy New Year!