SynthesisAnnals of surgery2006
The reporting of randomized clinical trials using a surgical intervention is in need of immediate improvement: a systematic review.
Synthesis in Annals of surgery, 2006. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 52 papers, 9 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
52 citing papers in PubMed, 9 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Comparing the reporting and conduct quality of exercise and pharmacological randomised controlled trials: a systematic review.BMJ open · 2021Pooled it
- Efficacy of Electrical Stimulators for Bone Healing: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Sham-Controlled Trials.Scientific reports · 2016Pooled it
- How Well Is Quality Improvement Described in the Perioperative Care Literature? A Systematic Review.Joint Commission journal on quality and patient safety · 2016Pooled it
- Arthroscopic surgery for degenerative tears of the meniscus: a systematic review and meta-analysis.CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne · 2014Pooled it
- A systematic review of the quality of reporting in published smoking cessation trials for pregnant women: an explanation for the evidence-practice gap?Implementation science : IS · 2014Pooled it
- Surrogate endpoints in liver surgery related trials: a systematic review of the literature.HPB : the official journal of the International Hepato Pancreato Biliary Association · 2013Pooled it
- Centre selection for clinical trials and the generalisability of results: a mixed methods study.PloS one · 2013Pooled it
- Measurement and interpretation of patient-reported outcomes in surgery: an opportunity for improvement.Journal of gastrointestinal surgery : official journal of the Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract · 2011Pooled it
- [Survival, mortality and quality of life after pylorus-preserving or classical Whipple operation. A systematic review with meta-analysis].Der Chirurg; Zeitschrift fur alle Gebiete der operativen Medizen · 2010Pooled it
- Impact of a web-based tool (WebCONSORT) to improve the reporting of randomised trials: results of a randomised controlled trial.BMC medicine · 2016Trial
- Trial
- Time-action analysis (TAA) of the surgical technique implanting the collum femoris preserving (CFP) hip arthroplasty. TAASTIC trial identifying pitfalls during the learning curve of surgeons participating in a subsequent randomized controlled trial (an observational study).BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2008Trial
- Completeness of Reporting and Intervention Description in Articles on Psychological Interventions for Pediatric Patients with Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis: A Meta-Research Study.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- CONSORT 2025 explanation and elaboration: updated guideline for reporting randomised trials.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2025Article
- Evidence-Based Surgery: What Can Intra-Operative Images Contribute?Journal of clinical medicine · 2023Review
- The SUPER reporting guideline suggested for reporting of surgical technique.Hepatobiliary surgery and nutrition · 2023Article
- The SUPER reporting guideline suggested for reporting of surgical technique: explanation and elaboration.Gland surgery · 2023Article
- The importance of utilizing the SUPER reporting guideline for surgical technique.Annals of translational medicine · 2023Article
- Visualization of the recurrent laryngeal nerve alone versus intraoperative nerve monitoring in primary thyroidectomy: a framework approach to a missing typology.Frontiers in surgery · 2023Review
- Methodological quality for systematic reviews of adverse events with surgical interventions: a cross-sectional survey.BMC medical research methodology · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
- Commented on by
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo assess the reporting of surgical interventions, care providers, and number of centers in randomized clinical trials.
methodsSystematic review was performed to assess reports of randomized controlled trials assessing surgical procedure published in 2004. A standardized abstraction form was used to extract data.
resultsA total of 158 articles were included. Details on the intervention intended, such as the surgical procedure, were reported in 138 (87.3%) articles, anesthetic management in 56 (35.4%), preoperative care in 34 (15.2%), and postoperative care in 78 (49.4%). How the experimental surgical intervention was carried out was reported in 64 articles (40.5%). Most trials were conducted in single centers (n = 109, 69.0%). The setting was reported in only 11 articles, and the volume of interventions performed was only reported in 5. Selection criteria were reported for care providers in 64 articles (40.5%). The number of care providers performing the intervention was reported in 51 articles (32.2%). The quality of reporting was low as assessed by CLEAR NPT (a 10-items checklist specifically developed to assess the reporting quality of RCTs assessing nonpharmacologic treatment).
conclusionsInadequate reporting on the management of the surgical procedure, care providers, and surgery center may introduce bias in RCTs of surgical interventions, making their results questionable. We recommend extending the CONSORT Statement to surgical interventions.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.