CONSORT item adherence in top ranked anaesthesiology journals in 2011: a retrospective analysis
Nils H Münter1, Ana Stevanovic, Rolf Rossaint
1From the Department of Anaesthesiology, University Hospital Aachen, Aachen, Germany (NHM, AS, RR, CS, MC), and Department of Anaesthesia and Surgical Outcomes Research Centre, University College London Hospital & Wellcome Department of Imaging Neuroscience, University College London, London, UK (RDS) *Nils H. Münter and Ana Stevanovic contributed equally to the writing of this article.
Insights
Adherence to the CONSORT statement in top anesthesiology journals remains low, with randomized controlled trials (RCTs) meeting only 60% of criteria. Citation counts show a weak association with CONSORT compliance.
Area of Science:
- Anesthesiology Research
- Clinical Trial Methodology
- Scientific Publication Standards
Background:
- Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are crucial for evaluating medical interventions.
- The CONSORT (Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials) statement aims to improve the quality of RCT reporting.
- This study examines CONSORT statement adherence in leading anesthesiology journals.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the extent to which authors in top anesthesiology journals follow CONSORT statement criteria.
- To evaluate the implementation of CONSORT guidelines in published RCTs.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective cross-sectional analysis of RCTs published in 2011.
- Screening of articles from the top 11 anesthesiology journals based on ISI Web of Knowledge ranking.
- Assessment of RCTs using the CONSORT checklist and analysis of citation correlation.
Main Results:
- A median of 60.0% of CONSORT criteria were met across 319 evaluated RCTs.
- Only 72.1% of studies clearly defined primary and secondary outcome parameters.
- A weak correlation (r=0.023) was observed between the number of citations and CONSORT adherence.
Conclusions:
- Adherence to CONSORT reporting guidelines remains suboptimal in high-impact anesthesiology journals.
- Improved adherence to CONSORT standards is needed to enhance the quality and transparency of RCT reporting.
- The number of citations is not a reliable indicator of adherence to CONSORT guidelines.
Background:
Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) are the gold standard for measuring the efficacy of any medical intervention. The present study assesses the implementation of the CONSORT statement in the top 11 anaesthesiology journals in 2011.
Objectives:
We designed this study in order to determine how well authors in the top 11 ranked anaesthesiology journals follow the CONSORT statement's criteria.
Design:
A retrospective cross-sectional data analysis.
Setting:
The study was performed at the RWTH Aachen University Hospital.
Participants:
Journals included Pain, Anesthesiology, British Journal of Anaesthesia, Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine, European Journal of Pain, Anesthesia and Analgesia, Anaesthesia, Minerva Anestesiologica, Canadian Journal of Anesthesia, Journal of Neurosurgical Anesthesiology and the European Journal of Anaesthesiology.
Main Outcome Measures:
All articles in the online table of contents from the top 11 anaesthesiology journals according to the ISI Web of Knowledge were screened for RCTs published in 2011. The RCTs were assessed using the CONSORT checklist. We also analysed the correlation between the number of citations and the adherence to CONSORT items.
Results:
We evaluated 319 RCTs and found that, more than ten years after the publication of the CONSORT statement, the RCTs satisfied a median of 60.0% of the CONSORT criteria. Only 72.1% of the articles presented clearly defined primary and secondary outcome parameters. The number of citations is only weakly associated with the fulfilment of the CONSORT statement (r = 0.023).
Conclusion:
Adherence to the CONSORT criteria remains low in top-ranked anaesthesiology journals. We found only a very weak correlation between the number of citations and fulfilment of the requirements of the CONSORT statement.