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Evidence-based Plastic Surgery: Assessing Progress over Two 5-year Periods from 2009 to 2019
Toni Huw Mihailidis1, Sammy Al-Benna1
1Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Tygerberg Academic Hospital, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa.
Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. Global Open
|February 10, 2021
Summary
High-evidence publications in plastic surgery show an increasing trend. However, the reporting quality of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) needs improvement, with poor adherence to CONSORT guidelines for critical elements like allocation concealment.
Area of Science:
- Plastic Surgery
- Evidence-Based Medicine
- Medical Research Methodology
Background:
- Publications on evidence-based medicine have grown.
- Previous analyses of evidence-based plastic surgery are outdated (latest in 2013).
- A need exists to evaluate current trends in high-quality research within plastic surgery.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the trend in high-evidence publications across three major plastic surgery journals over two 5-year periods.
- To assess the quality of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published in the latter period.
Main Methods:
- Searched PubMed for articles published between May 2009-May 2014 and May 2014-May 2019.
- Manually screened three leading plastic surgery journals.
- Assessed the reporting quality of RCTs using a modified Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) checklist.
Main Results:
- A significant increase in high-evidence publications was observed, though they constituted only 2.09% of total articles.
- Breast surgery was the most frequent sub-specialty for RCTs (n=30).
- Inclusion/exclusion criteria and blinding were well-reported (77.91%), but allocation concealment was poorly reported (24.42%).
Conclusions:
- There is a positive trend in high-evidence publications and a significant increase in published RCTs across plastic surgery sub-specialties.
- The reporting quality of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) remains suboptimal, particularly concerning allocation concealment.
- Adherence to standard reporting guidelines like CONSORT is recommended to enhance the quality of published research.
