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A Perspective on the Principles of Integrity in Infectious Disease Research
Kevin T Kavanagh1, Stephen S Tower, Daniel M Saman
1From the *Health Watch USA, Somerset, Kentucky; †Health Watch USA, WWAMI School of Medicine, University of Alaska Anchorage, Anchorage, Alaska; and ‡Health Watch USA, Essentia Institute of Rural Health, Duluth, Minnesota.
Abstract:
The medical literature is prone to overstating results, a condition not thoroughly recognized among policymakers. This article sets forth examples of potential problems with research integrity in the infectious disease literature. We describe articles that may be spun, categories lumped together in hopes of creating a significant effect (and sometimes an insignificant one), changes in metrics, and how trials may fail because of suboptimal interventions. When examined together, the examples show that the problems are widespread and illustrate the difficulty associated with interpreting medical research. The state of the current medical literature makes it of utmost importance that all sections of the manuscript are read, including associated letters to the editors and information on ClinicalTrials.gov before authors' recommendations are accepted.
Insights
Medical research, especially in infectious diseases, often overstates findings. Policymakers must critically evaluate study details, including data and methods, before accepting recommendations.
Area of Science:
- Medical Research
- Infectious Diseases
- Research Integrity
Background:
- Medical literature frequently overstates research results, a concern not widely recognized by policymakers.
- Problems with research integrity are prevalent in infectious disease literature.
Purpose of the Study:
- To highlight potential issues with research integrity in infectious disease studies.
- To illustrate the widespread nature of these problems and the challenges in interpreting medical research.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of infectious disease literature for instances of result overstatement.
- Examination of practices such as result spinning, data aggregation, metric changes, and suboptimal trial interventions.
Main Results:
- Identified widespread issues including spun results, data lumping, altered metrics, and trial failures due to poor interventions.
- Demonstrated the difficulty in accurately interpreting medical research findings.
Conclusions:
- The medical literature contains widespread issues affecting research integrity.
- Thorough evaluation of all manuscript sections, including supplementary materials and clinical trial registries, is crucial before accepting study recommendations.
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