Reporting quality and spin in abstracts of randomized clinical trials related to oral mucositis

Oral mucositis is a common debilitating side effect of cancer therapy. Numerous randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have examined interventions for this complication. Accurate reporting of RCT results in abstracts is crucial to treatment decisions. Spin undermines the integrity of the information presented and compromises evidence-based practice. This study evaluated the reporting quality of, and spin in, abstracts of RCTs of four interventions for oral mucositis: benzydamine, photobiomodulation therapy, oral cryotherapy, and keratinocyte growth factor, and assessed factors that can affect reporting quality and spin.

PubMed, Cochrane, and Scopus were systematically searched for RCTs related to oral mucositis treatments published until September 2024. The CONSORT for Abstracts (CONSORT-A) and spin checklists were then applied to assess reporting quality of and spin in their abstracts.

Among 112 RCTs that were analyzed, the overall CONSORT-A score for reporting quality was low, and key elements such as study design and outcome reporting were frequently not reported. Only 16 of these RCTs were analyzed for spin and only two RCTs had no spin. Higher reporting quality was significantly correlated with greater abstract word counts (r = 0.35; p < 0.001) and pharmaceutical funding when compared with articles that did not report funding (p = 0.015). Spin was negatively correlated with the Altmetric attention score (r =  - 0.652; p = 0.006).

Abstracts of RCTs on oral mucositis interventions frequently did not meet the reporting standards defined by the CONSORT-A checklist. Enhanced adherence to reporting guidelines is necessary to support evidence-based clinical practices.