Evaluation of dental trials comparing baseline differences using p values

Area of Science:

• Dental research methodology
• Clinical trial reporting standards

Background:

• Significance testing for baseline differences in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) is widely criticized.
• Adherence to reporting guidelines like CONSORT is crucial for scientific integrity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the prevalence of significance testing for baseline comparisons in RCTs.
• To assess adherence to CONSORT reporting recommendations in top-tier dental journals.

Main Methods:

• A systematic search of PubMed for RCTs published in 10 high-impact dental journals.
• Analysis of RCTs published within a 5-year period (September 2012 - August 2017).

Main Results:

• 521 RCTs were analyzed.
• 45.9% of RCTs omitted baseline demographic tables, and 26.2% omitted baseline clinical characteristic tables.
• Significance testing for baseline comparisons was used in 38.9% of the studies.

Conclusions:

• A significant proportion of RCTs in reputable dental journals do not adhere to CONSORT guidelines.
• Failure to report baseline tables and the misuse of significance testing were prevalent issues.