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Independent replication of classic trials in neurosurgery: A missing validation practice
Neal Kerr1, Jasmin Kerr2, Mark Sheridan3
1Waikato Public Hospital, 183 Pembroke Street, Hamilton, Waikato, New Zealand.
Summary
Replication of influential neurosurgery trials is alarmingly rare. This study found no direct replication studies for classic neurosurgical trials, questioning the evidence base for current practices and highlighting the need for more robust validation.
Area of Science:
- Neurosurgery
- Scientific Reproducibility
Background:
- Replication of scientific studies is crucial for validating findings.
- Previous research indicates low replication rates across various scientific fields.
- The extent of direct replication for influential neurosurgical trials remains unknown.
Purpose of the Study:
- To estimate the proportion of highly-cited (classic) neurosurgical trials that have undergone independent direct replication.
- To assess the agreement between original findings and any published replications.
Main Methods:
- Conducted a comprehensive publication search of English-language articles in Web of Science (1900-2019).
- Identified 110 highly-cited neurosurgical trials (>400 citations) from 28 medical journals.
- Screened 113,387 articles within the citation index for evidence of direct replication studies.
Main Results:
- No self-identified direct replication studies were found for the classic neurosurgical trials examined.
- The search identified 4632 articles for scrutiny, none of which were direct replications.
Conclusions:
- The apparent lack of direct replication for classic neurosurgical trials raises concerns about the robustness of the evidence base for current practices.
- There is a critical need for the initiation and publication of direct replication studies in neurosurgery to confirm influential findings.
