Pragmatic Case-Control Study — Real-World Observational Epidemiology

A pragmatic case-control study is an observational design that compares individuals who have developed a disease or outcome (cases) with those who have not (controls), using data collected under routine real-world conditions rather than strictly controlled experimental settings. Exposure histories are reconstructed from clinical records, registries, or administrative databases. The design is chosen when a conventional explanatory case-control study would be impractical, unethical, or too narrow to inform actual clinical or public-health decisions.