The Impact of Positive Fluid Balance on Sepsis Subtypes: A Causal Inference Study

Figure 3

A directed acyclic graph (DAG) is a graphical representation of a set of variables and the relationships between them. Effect modifiers (light blue) and confounders (blue) are two important concepts in causal inference. Effect modifiers are variables that modify the effect of a treatment or exposure on an outcome. Confounders, on the other hand, are variables that are associated with both exposure and outcome and thus may bias estimates of the treatment effect.