• Arthritis Rheumatol · May 2014

    Comparative Study

    Brief report: inadequate description and discussion of enrolled patient characteristics and potential inter-study site differences in reports of randomized controlled trials: a systematic survey in six rheumatology journals.

    • Sebahattin Yurdakul, Bediha Nezhdi Mustafa, Izzet Fresko, Emire Seyahi, and Hasan Yazici.
    • Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey.
    • Arthritis Rheumatol. 2014 May 1; 66 (5): 1395-9.

    ObjectiveDetailed information on patient recruitment and study settings is an important component of reports of randomized controlled trials (RCTs). We had the impression that many RCTs published in rheumatology journals lacked this information. This study was undertaken to systemically survey this matter in 6 leading journals.MethodsA hand search was conducted for RCTs published in 2011 and 2012 in Arthritis & Rheumatism, Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, Rheumatology (Oxford), Arthritis Care & Research, The Journal of Rheumatology, and Clinical and Experimental Rheumatology. Using the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) guidelines, 2 observers evaluated the articles for the inclusion of patient eligibility criteria, including method of recruitment; study health care settings; geographic location; and, among multicenter studies, a discussion of possible effects of intercenter differences on outcomes.ResultsAmong 118 articles, an informative account of the method of recruitment was available in 36 (30.5%). Information about the study health care setting was found in 56 (47.5%). Patient socioeconomic profile was available in 11 (9.3%), patient education level in 10 (8.4%), and patient race in 48 (40.7%). Among 76 multicenter studies, the potential effects of possible intercenter differences on outcome were discussed in 13 (17.1%). There were no important differences between the 3 journals that emphasized the use of CONSORT in their author guidelines and the remaining 3 journals.ConclusionAdequate information on patient recruitment, the trial setting, and a discussion of possible multicenter design effects on outcomes are lacking in the majority of RCT reports in rheumatology. This affects the validity of these reports and calls for closer attention of authors, journals, and reviewers.Copyright © 2014 by the American College of Rheumatology.

      Pubmed     Free full text   Copy Citation     Plaintext  

      Add institutional full text...

    Notes

     
    Knowledge, pearl, summary or comment to share?
    300 characters remaining
    help        
    You can also include formatting, links, images and footnotes in your notes
    • Simple formatting can be added to notes, such as *italics*, _underline_ or **bold**.
    • Superscript can be denoted by <sup>text</sup> and subscript <sub>text</sub>.
    • Numbered or bulleted lists can be created using either numbered lines 1. 2. 3., hyphens - or asterisks *.
    • Links can be included with: [my link to pubmed](http://pubmed.com)
    • Images can be included with: ![alt text](https://bestmedicaljournal.com/study_graph.jpg "Image Title Text")
    • For footnotes use [^1](This is a footnote.) inline.
    • Or use an inline reference [^1] to refer to a longer footnote elseweher in the document [^1]: This is a long footnote..

    hide…