Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33963519›Full record

ArticleCanadian journal of anaesthesia = Journal canadien d'anesthesie2021

Apophenia and anesthesia: how we sometimes change our practice prematurely.

Neil A Hanson, Matthew B Lavallee, Robert H Thiele

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Canadian journal of anaesthesia = Journal canadien d'anesthesie, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. In Defense of Science.The journal of extra-corporeal technology · 2021
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Neil A HansonDepartment of Anesthesiology, University of Virginia Health System, PO Box 800710, ville, VA, 22908-0710, USA. nah3q@virginia.edu.
Matthew B LavalleeDepartment of Anesthesiology, University of Virginia Health System, PO Box 800710, ville, VA, 22908-0710, USA.
Robert H ThieleDepartment of Anesthesiology, University of Virginia Health System, PO Box 800710, ville, VA, 22908-0710, USA.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Human beings are predisposed to identifying false patterns in statistical noise, a likely survival advantage during our evolutionary development. Moreover, humans seem to prefer "positive" results over "negative" ones. These two cognitive features lay a framework for premature adoption of falsely positive studies. Added to this predisposition is the tendency of journals to "overbid" for exciting or newsworthy manuscripts, incentives in both the academic and publishing industries that value change over truth and scientific rigour, and a growing dependence on complex statistical techniques that some reviewers do not understand. The purpose of this article is to describe the underlying causes of premature adoption and provide recommendations that may improve the quality of published science.

Indexed as

AnesthesiaPublishingHumansanesthesiaapopheniabiasincentivespremature adoption

Identifiers

PMID33963519
PMCPMC8104920

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
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.