Support for reporting guidelines in surgical journals needs improvement: A systematic review

Area of Science:

• Medical research
• Surgical journals
• Evidence-based medicine

Background:

• High-quality evidence reporting is essential for effective evidence-based medicine.
• Previous research indicates suboptimal reporting standards in surgical studies.
• Reporting guidelines offer a structured approach to enhance research reporting quality.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the prevalence and endorsement strength of reporting guidelines in surgical journals.
• To identify current practices regarding reporting guideline recommendations for authors.

Main Methods:

• A systematic review was conducted on 198 surgical journals listed in the 2014 Journal Citation Report.
• Author guidelines for each journal were independently screened to extract data on reporting guidelines.
• Information on the presence and strength of recommendations for guideline use was collected.

Main Results:

• Out of 193 included journals, 62% did not mention reporting guidelines in their author instructions.
• Among journals mentioning guidelines, only 14% mandated the use of all relevant ones.
• The CONSORT statement was the most frequently cited guideline (mentioned in 46 journals).

Conclusions:

• Surgical journals need to enhance the inclusion and recommendation of reporting guidelines.
• Authors, reviewers, and editors should prioritize adherence to reporting guidelines for improved research integrity.
• Journals are encouraged to implement mandatory adherence to reporting guidelines to ensure robust scientific reporting.