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Spin And Distortion In Surgical Trials, Andrea Mataruga

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Research problem: Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are essential; however, their validity can be threatened through distortion or spin. This study quantifies publication bias and distorted outcome reporting.

Methodology: All surgical RCTs registered on ClinicalTrials.gov from 1997-2017 were identified and a sample was obtained through random and intentional selection. Failure to publish (proportion of studies that remain unpublished), outcome distortion (changing intended outcomes), and spin (distorted presentation) were explored. Comparisons were made for positive versus negative studies and for high-income (HICs) versus low-middle income countries (LMICs).

Results: In total, 13,761 RCTs were registered (median enrollment size = 96, 94% from …