ArticleBMJ open2024
Quality and completeness of, and spin in reporting of, pilot and feasibility studies in hip and knee arthroplasty: a protocol for a methodological survey.
Article in BMJ open, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
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
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- The reporting of CONSORT items and key feasibility elements in pilot and feasibility studies in hip and knee arthroplasty is suboptimal: a methodological survey.Pilot and feasibility studies · 2026Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionPilot or feasibility trials examine the feasibility, viability and recruitment potential of larger, main trials. Specifically, a pilot trial can be instrumental in identifying methodological issues essential to the development of an effective research protocol. However, numerous studies published as pilot or feasibility studies have demonstrated notable inconsistencies in the nature of information reported, resulting in poor-quality and incomplete reporting. It is unclear whether such low quality or incompleteness of reporting is also prevalent in arthroplasty pilot trials. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: This protocol outlines a methodological survey examining the completeness of reporting among hip and knee arthroplasty pilot trials in accordance with the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) 2010 extension to pilot trials. Secondary objectives include: (1) determining the prevalence of 'spin' practices, defined as: (a) placing a focus on statistical significance rather than feasibility, (b) presenting results that show the trial to be non-feasible as feasible or (c) emphasising the effectiveness or potential intervention benefits rather than feasibility; (2) determining factors associated with incomplete reporting, and 'spin'. A search of PubMed will be conducted for pilot trials in hip or knee arthroplasty published between 01 January 2017 and 31 December 2023. Following screening, appropriate data will be extracted from eligible publications and reported as descriptive statistics, encompassing elements of the CONSORT checklist associated with completeness of reporting. Logistic regression analysis and Poisson regression will be used to analyse factors associated with completeness of reporting and spin. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This methodological review does not require formal ethical approval, as it will solely involve the use of published and publicly reported literature. The results of this study will be disseminated through submission to peer-reviewed journals and academic conference presentations. Study details will be sent to McMaster University's media coordinators to be shared through the institution's research-focused platforms.
Indexed as
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.