ArticlePlastic and reconstructive surgery. Global open2016
An Update on the Level of Evidence for Plastic Surgery Research Published in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.
Article in Plastic and reconstructive surgery. Global open, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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
11 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 39 citations in OpenAlex.
- Role of Tranexamic Acid in Reducing Intraoperative Blood Loss and Postoperative Edema and Ecchymosis in Primary Elective Rhinoplasty: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.JAMA facial plastic surgery · 2019Pooled it
- Implementation Science in Breast Reconstruction: A Guide to Closing the Research-to-practice Gap.Plastic and reconstructive surgery. Global open · 2025Article
- The Need for Higher Levels of Evidence in Plastic Surgery.Plastic and reconstructive surgery. Global open · 2024Article
- Publications in Plastic Surgery and Reconstruction: A Review from a Developing Country, Sudan.Plastic and reconstructive surgery. Global open · 2024Article
- The Impact of Senior Author Profile on Publication Level of Evidence inPlastic and reconstructive surgery. Global open · 2022Article
- Level of Evidence on Platelet-rich Plasma in Plastic Surgery.Plastic and reconstructive surgery. Global open · 2021Article
- The 100 Most-cited Articles in Abdominoplasty: A Bibliometric Analysis.Plastic and reconstructive surgery. Global open · 2021Article
- Writing an Evidence-based Article in Plastic Surgery: Translating Research into High-quality Care.Plastic and reconstructive surgery. Global open · 2019Review
- Publications from Saudi Arabia in Plastic Surgery in the Recent Five Years.Plastic and reconstructive surgery. Global open · 2019Article
- Reading between the Lines: A Plastic Surgeon's Guide to Evaluating the Quality of Evidence in Research Publications.Plastic and reconstructive surgery. Global open · 2019Article
- Level of Evidence in the Archivs of Bone and Joint Surgery Journal.The archives of bone and joint surgery · 2017Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
In 2011, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (PRS) implemented a level-of-evidence (LOE) pyramid to bring attention to evidence-based medicine and to promote quality of research. The objective of our study was to examine the current, overall quality of plastic surgery research when compared with that of the previous 30 years. Articles from PRS published in 2013 were culled for information, including LOE based on the assigned score from the LOE pyramid. (Animal, cadaver, and basic science studies; reviews; correspondence; and continuing medical education articles were excluded.) The LOE grades were compared with those from 1983, 1993, and 2003. In 2013, 536 articles were published in PRS; of these, 247 met the inclusion criteria and were included in the analysis. The mean LOE in PRS for 2013 was 3.42. For the year 2003, the mean LOE was 4.16; 1993, 4.25; and 1983, 4.42. Analysis of variance indicated significant improvement in research quality over time (P < 0.001). In 2014, 216 of 489 published articles met the inclusion criteria. The mean LOE of PRS articles in 2014 was 3.33, demonstrating continued higher LOE. There was also a decrease in the percentage of level IV and V studies to 47.2% (from 51.4% in 2013), whereas higher quality level I and II studies had increased to 18.1% (from 17.4%). The quality of plastic surgery research has shown a continued upsurge as evidenced by overall improvement in LOE in published articles over the past 3 decades.
Identifiers
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.