Evolution of reports of randomised clinical trials in plastic surgery

• Published in: Journal of plastic, reconstructive & aesthetic surgery reconstructive & aesthetic surgery, 2011-06, Vol.64 (6), p.703-709
• Main Authors: Veiga, D.F, Veiga-Filho, J, Pellizzon, R.F, Juliano, Y, Ferreira, L.M
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Biological and medical sciences; Evaluation; Humans; Medical sciences; Plastic Surgery; Quality; Randomised clinical trials; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; Reconstructive Surgical Procedures; Review literature as topic; Surgery (general aspects). Transplantations, organ and tissue grafts. Graft diseases; Surgery, Plastic - methods
• ISSN: 1748-6815; 1878-0539
• DOI: 10.1016/j.bjps.2010.11.015

Summary Well-designed, well-conducted and well-reported randomised clinical trials (RCTs) can significantly impact medical care, by contributing to a strong evidence base from which clinical guidelines can be derived. In a previous study, we assessed the quality of reports of RCTs in plastic surgery published from 1966 to 2003. The aim of the present study was to verify what have changed over the last years. RCTs in plastic surgery published from 2004 to 2008 were identified through electronic searches, and classified according to their allocation concealment. Trials with allocation concealment appropriately described were evaluated as to their quality. Two independent reviewers performed the evaluations, using two tools: the Delphi List and the Jadad’s quality scale. From 3840 identified studies, 96 were selected for classification according to allocation concealment; 28 (29%) of them appropriately described allocation concealment. From 1966 to 2003, 34 (17%) RCTs appropriately described allocation concealment ( χ2  = 22.98, p