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Published on: June 2, 2015
The reproducibility of interventional radiology randomized controlled trials and external validation of a
Assala Aslan1, Christopher Stevens1, Amro Saad Aldine1
1Department of Radiology and Interventional Radiology, Ochsner-Louisiana State University, Shreveport, United States.
Purpose:
The fragility index (FI) measures the robustness of randomized controlled trials (RCTs). It complements the P value by taking into account the number of outcome events. In this study, the authors measured the FI for major interventional radiology RCTs.
Methods:
Interventional radiology RCTs published between January 2010 and December 2022 relating to trans-jugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt, trans-arterial chemoembolization, needle biopsy, angiography, angioplasty, thrombolysis, and nephrostomy tube insertion were analyzed to measure the FI and robustness of the studies.
Results:
A total of 34 RCTs were included. The median FI of those studies was 4.5 (range 1-68). Seven trials (20.6%) had a number of patients lost to follow-up that was higher than their FI, and 15 (44.1%) had a FI of 1-3.
Conclusion:
The median FI, and hence the reproducibility of interventional radiology RCTs, is low compared to other medical fields, with some having a FI of 1, which should be interrupted cautiously.
