Evidence map›Paper›PMID 27842528›Full record

ArticleBMC musculoskeletal disorders2016

Level of clinical evidence presented at the open and closed American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons annual meeting over 10 years (2005-2014).

Jeffrey Kay, Muzammil Memon, Darren de Sa, Nicole Simunovic, George S Athwal, Asheesh Bedi, Olufemi R Ayeni

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC musculoskeletal disorders, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
0.9field-weighted citation impact, top 18% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed, 10 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. An Assessment of the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery Publication Trends From 2012 Through 2022.Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Global research & reviews · 2025
    Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Jeffrey KayMichael G. DeGroote School of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
Muzammil MemonMichael G. DeGroote School of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
Darren de SaDivision of Orthopaedic Surgery, Department of Surgery, McMaster University, 1200 Main Street West, 4E15, Hamilton, L8N 3Z5, ON, Canada.
Nicole SimunovicDepartment of Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
George S AthwalRoth|McFarlane Hand and Upper Limb Center, St Joseph's Health Care, Western University, London, ON, Canada.
Asheesh BediSports Medicine and Shoulder Service, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
Olufemi R AyeniDivision of Orthopaedic Surgery, Department of Surgery, McMaster University, 1200 Main Street West, 4E15, Hamilton, L8N 3Z5, ON, Canada. ayenif@mcmaster.ca.
McMaster University · CASt Joseph's Health Care · CAUniversity of Michigan–Ann Arbor · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES) annual scientific meetings are premier forums whereby orthopaedic surgeons are informed of the latest research advances in shoulder and elbow surgery. The purpose of the present study was to assess the Level of evidence (LOE) in the clinical papers presented at both the open and closed ASES annual scientific meetings from 2005 to 2014. Secondarily, the study evaluated whether there were any changes in the distribution of LOE over this period of time.

methodsTwo reviewers independently evaluated the abstracts of 532 paper presentations at either the open or closed ASES annual meetings. The independent reviewers first screened the abstracts for clinical evidence and excluded cadaveric, biomechanical, technique, and review studies. The included abstracts were then independently graded for methodological quality using LOE from Level I (highest quality) to IV (lowest quality) based on the classification system created by The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS).

resultsOverall, 421 presentations were included and graded for LOE. In general, 17% of the presentations were graded level I; 15% level II; 25% level III; and 43% assigned a LOE of IV. Chi-square analysis demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in the LOE of presentations at the open and closed ASES meetings combined (p = 0.028) between the years 2005 and 2014. In particular, the proportion of presentations graded as level IV significantly decreased over this period (p = <0.001).

conclusionsWhile most presentations at the ASES annual scientific meetings were of lower LOEs the percentage of level I evidence is greater than that reported at other Orthopaedic meetings. There has been a significant improvement in the LOE of clinical research at open and closed ASES meetings from 2005 to 2014. Specifically, the proportion of level IV studies have dramatically decreased over time.

Indexed as

Evidence-Based MedicineElbow JointHumansOrthopedicsShoulder JointLOEQualityScientific meetingShoulder and elbow

Identifiers

PMID27842528
PMCPMC5109803
OpenAlexW2551525852

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.