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Assessing the Quality of Abstracts in Randomized Controlled Trials Published in High Impact Cardiovascular Journals
Muhammad Shahzeb Khan1, Asim Shaikh2, Rohan Kumar Ochani2
1Department of Internal Medicine, John H Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County, Chicago, IL (M.S.K., T.A., R.D.).
Insights
Adherence to CONSORT guidelines for abstracts in major cardiovascular journals is low. Improving reporting quality is crucial for transparently presenting randomized controlled trial results.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Medicine
- Clinical Trials
- Scientific Publishing
Background:
- Abstracts are critical for clinicians in cardiovascular medicine.
- The extended CONSORT Statement for Abstracts aims to improve abstract quality.
- Adherence to CONSORT guidelines in cardiovascular journals is not well-documented.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the frequency of adherence to CONSORT guidelines in abstracts of randomized controlled trials.
- To evaluate the quality of reporting in abstracts published in leading cardiovascular journals.
Main Methods:
- A systematic search of MEDLINE for randomized controlled trials published between 2011-2017 in Circulation, JACC, and EHJ.
- Exclusion of post hoc, interim, and cost-effective analyses.
- Data extraction by two independent investigators and adjudication by a third.
Main Results:
- 53% of abstracts identified the article as randomized in the title.
- 100% detailed interventions; 81% reported trial registration.
- Low reporting of methodological details: 9% eligibility criteria, 43% blinding, <1% allocation concealment.
- 60% reported primary outcome results; 55% reported harms/adverse effects.
Conclusions:
- High prevalence of nonadherence to CONSORT guidelines in leading cardiovascular journals.
- Editors, authors, and reviewers must enhance adherence.
- Increased adherence promotes transparent and unbiased presentation of study results.
Background:
In the busy world of cardiovascular medicine, abstracts may be the only part of a publication that clinicians read. Therefore, it is critical for abstracts to accurately reflect article content. The extended CONSORT (Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials) Statement for Abstracts was developed to ensure high abstract quality. However, it is unknown how often adherence to CONSORT guidelines occurs among cardiovascular journals.
Methods And Results:
We searched MEDLINE for randomized controlled trials published in 3 major cardiovascular journals ( Circulation, Journal of the American College of Cardiology, and European Heart Journal) from 2011 to 2017. Post hoc, interim, and cost-effective analyses of randomized controlled trials were excluded. Two independent investigators extracted the data using a prespecified data collection form and a third investigator adjudicated the data. The primary outcome was frequency of subcategory adherence to CONSORT guidelines. A total of 478 abstracts were included in the analysis. Approximately half of the abstracts (53%; 255/478; 95% CI, 49%-57%) identified the article as randomized in the title. All abstracts detailed the interventions for both study groups (100%) and 81% (95% CI, 78%-85%) reported trial registration. Methodological quality reporting was relatively low: 9% (45/478; 95% CI, 6%-12%) described participant eligibility criteria with settings for data collection, 43% (204/478; 95% CI, 39%-47%) reported details of blinding, and <1% (4/478; 95% CI, 0%-2%) reported allocation concealment. Approximately 60% (301/478; 95% CI, 59%-67%) of the included abstracts provided primary outcome results while 55% (262/478; 95% CI, 51%-60%) reported harms or adverse effects.
Conclusions:
There is a high prevalence of nonadherence to CONSORT guidelines among leading cardiovascular journals. Efforts by editors, authors, and reviewers should be made to increase adherence and promote transparent and unbiased presentation of study results.
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