Reporting Quality of Randomised Trials on Vital Pulp Treatments Using the Preferred Reporting Items for RAndomised...

Area of Science:

• Dentistry
• Endodontics
• Clinical Trial Reporting

Background:

• Vital pulp treatments (VPT) are crucial in modern endodontics.
• Assessing the quality of evidence from randomized clinical trials (RCTs) is essential for clinical decision-making.
• The Preferred Reporting Items for Randomized Trials in Endodontics (PRIRATE) 2020 guidelines aim to improve reporting standards.

Purpose of the Study:

• To critically evaluate the reporting quality of RCTs on VPT published before the PRIRATE 2020 guidelines.
• To identify factors associated with higher reporting quality in these studies.

Main Methods:

• A systematic review and critical appraisal of 47 RCTs on VPT published before the PRIRATE 2020 guidelines.
• Reporting quality was assessed using 58 items, scored on a percentage scale (1=fully reported, 0.5=inadequately reported, 0=not reported).

Main Results:

• The overall reporting quality of VPT RCTs published before PRIRATE 2020 was suboptimal.
• Fifteen trials (32%) achieved a 'High' score (>75%), while 32 trials (68%) received a 'Moderate' score (25%-75%).
• Factors associated with high scores included a large number of authors, European origin of manuscripts, and endorsement of registration practices.

Conclusions:

• RCTs on VPT published prior to the PRIRATE 2020 guidelines demonstrated suboptimal reporting quality.
• Future research must strictly adhere to reporting guidelines to enhance the quality and credibility of evidence-based endodontic practice.