engleski

Reporting quality of randomized controlled trials’ abstracts on H. pylori infections using CONSORT for Abstracts guidelines

Introduction Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials for Abstracts (CONSORT-A) are developed to improve the reporting standards of randomised controlled trials’ (RCT) abstracts [1]. As abstracts are freely available and summarise the research data, they can be used to search for the relevant RCTs. Effective presentation of the information is necessary to allow for swift screening and analysis [1, 2]. The aim of the study was to determine adherence to the CONSORT-A statement of RCTs concerning Helicobacter pylori infections, a topic with rapidly growing amount of research, and to explore factors associated with reporting quality. Methods MEDLINE database was searched to find RCT abstracts on H. pylori infections published between years 2010 and 2019. Adherence to 17-item CONSORT-A checklist was determined to assess the reporting quality of the included abstracts [1-3]. Each abstract was given an overall score which corresponded to the number of correctly reported items. Univariate and multivariate linear regression were used to determine factors that influenced the reporting quality [2, 3]. Results Included abstracts (n=451) had an overall median quality score of 8/17 (IQR 7-9). Large proportions of abstracts adequately reported interventions (97.1%), participants (99.3%), objectives (89.1%), numbers randomized (94.7%) and conclusions (98.4%). In contrast, items such as trial design (8.0%), randomization (2.7%), blinding (11%) and funding (2.0%) were severely under-reported (Table 1). Higher overall quality scores for H. pylori abstracts were associated with CONSORT-A endorsement (5.975, 2.015-9.936), pharmacological interventions (4.923, 1.038-8.809), multicentre setting (5.015, 2.283-7.748), higher numbers of participants (3.911, 1.548-6.273), hospital setting (5.339, 2.231-8.448) and publishing in a first quartile journal (7.074, 1.160-12.988), data expressed as mean score and 95% CI (Table 2). Conclusions The overall reporting quality of RCT abstracts was subpar. More transparency is needed in regards to reporting of the funding and adverse events. The majority of journals did not recommend the use of CONSORT-A guidelines. More endorsement by the journals might improve the standards of reporting. References 1. Hopewell S, et al. CONSORT for reporting randomized controlled trials in journal and conference abstracts: explanation and elaboration. PLoS Med. Jan 22 2008 ; 5(1):e20. 2. Ghimire S, et al. Oncology trial abstracts showed suboptimal improvement in reporting: a comparative before-and-after evaluation using CONSORT for Abstract guidelines. J Clin Epidemiol. Jun 2014 ; 67(6):658-666. 3. Germini F, et al. Quality of reporting in abstracts of RCTs published in emergency medicine journals: a systematic survey of the literature suggests we can do better. Emerg Med J. Nov 6 2019:660-665.

Helicobacter pylori ; gastroenterology ; randomized controlled trial ; CONSORT for Abstracts ; abstract ; reporting quality

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