ArticleTrials2015
Quality of randomized controlled trials reporting in the treatment of melasma conducted in China.
Article in Trials, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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
7 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 9 citations in OpenAlex.
- Overall reporting quality of randomised controlled trials of acupuncture for low back pain reported after 2020: a systematic review.BMJ open · 2025Pooled it
- Prevention and treatment of bone loss and fractures in patients undergoing a hematopoietic stem cell transplant: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Bone marrow transplantation · 2017Pooled it
- Comparison of the efficacy of Hydroquinone cream versus Hydroquinone cream plus Danggui Shaoyao powder in the treatment of melasma.Postepy dermatologii i alergologii · 2024Article
- Global research trends on melasma: a bibliometric and visualized study from 2014 to 2023.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2024Review
- Trends and predictors of biomedical research quality, 1990-2015: a meta-research study.BMJ open · 2019Review
- Assessing the quality of reports about randomized controlled trials of scalp acupuncture combined with another treatment for stroke.BMC complementary and alternative medicine · 2017Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThere is no existing report on the quality of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of melasma treatment currently conducted in China. This study aims to assess the quality of RCT- reporting in the treatment of melasma conducted in China.
methodsSeveral databases were searched from their inception through to August 2014. In order to rate the report quality, we scored 1 for the item if it was reported in CONSORT 2010 and 0 for the item if it was not definitely stated or was not clear. For overall quality score (OQS), 13 items were scored and calculated with a range of 0 to 13. Five items ('randomization', 'allocation concealment', 'blinding', 'baseline characteristics' and 'intention-to-treat (ITT) analysis') were scored and a key methodological index score (MIS) was calculated with a range of 0 to 5 for each trial.
resultsA total of 246 relevant RCTs were included in the final analysis. The median OQS was 7, with a minimum of 4 and a maximum of 11. Some items' information was insufficient, especially in the categories of 'trial design', 'sample size', 'recruitment' and 'ancillary analyses' with a positive rate of less than 20%. The median MIS was 1 with a minimum of 0 and a maximum of 3. Some items' reporting was poor, especially in the categories of 'randomization', 'allocation concealment and implementation', 'blinding' and 'ITT analysis' with a positive rate of less than 10%. The mean OQS increased by about 0.52 for manuscripts published in the period of 5-year increments (95% CI: 0.32 to 0.72; P < 0.001). With regard to the MIS, no variable was statistically significant in the ordinal regression model.
conclusionThe reporting quality of RCTs in the treatment of melasma conducted in China is not satisfactory especially in key methodological items. Reporting of RCTs in this field should meet and keep up with the standards of the CONSORT statement.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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