Do not make clinical decisions based on abstracts of healthcare research: A systematic review.

J Clin Epidemiol

Masters and Doctoral Programs in Physical Therapy, Universidade Cidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.

Published: April 2021

Objective: To summarize the reporting quality of healthcare abstracts and inconsistencies between abstracts and full texts.

Study Design And Setting: This systematic review included overviews of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and systematic reviews (SRs) that summarized data of healthcare abstracts on reporting of abstracts and consistency of abstracts with the full text. Searches were performed in PubMed, CENTRAL, Cochrane Library and EMBASE databases from 1900 to February 2019. Two authors screened the overviews and extracted the data. All analyses were descriptive and divided into two main groups: abstracts' reporting quality and abstracts' consistency with the full text. Abstracts were considered poorly reported and inconsistent with the full text if more than 5% of abstracts' information was not fully reported or not consistent with the full text.

Results: 27 overviews analyzing 5,194 RCTs and 866 SRs were retrieved for reporting quality of abstracts. A total of 22 overviews analyzing 2,025 RCTs and 551 SRs were included for consistency of abstracts with the full text. Abstracts across all healthcare areas presented poor reporting quality and were inconsistent with the full texts, with results and conclusions as the most inconsistent sections.

Conclusion: Abstracts of healthcare RCTs and SRs have shown a large room for improvement in reporting quality and consistency with the full text. Authors, journal editors and reviewers need to give the highest priority to this matter.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclinepi.2021.03.030DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

reporting quality
20
full text
20
abstracts healthcare
12
abstracts full
12
abstracts
11
systematic review
8
healthcare abstracts
8
full
8
consistency abstracts
8
consistency full
8

Similar Publications

Importance: Mental health issues among young people are increasingly concerning. Conventional psychological interventions face challenges, including limited staffing, time commitment, and low completion rates.

Objective: To evaluate the effect of a low-intensity online intervention on young people in Hong Kong experiencing moderate or greater mental distress.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Interventions to Reduce Mental Health Stigma in Young People: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

JAMA Netw Open

January 2025

Millennium Nucleus to Improve the Mental Health of Adolescents and Youths (IMHAY), Santiago, Chile.

Importance: Mental health stigma is a considerable barrier to help-seeking among young people.

Objective: To systematically review and meta-analyze randomized clinical trials (RCTs) of interventions aimed at reducing mental health stigma in young people.

Data Sources: Comprehensive searches were conducted in the CENTRAL, CINAHL, Embase, PubMed, and PsycINFO databases from inception to February 27, 2024.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Particle filtration efficiency (PFE) is a critical property of face masks, with the most common test methods using sodium chloride as a challenge aerosol. In the absence of bottom-up uncertainty budgets for PFE, interlaboratory comparisons provide an alternative route to robustly quantify the precision and bias of the method. This work presents the results of several interlaboratory comparisons of particle filtration efficiency performed across a network of laboratories.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: Many interventional strategies are commonly used to treat chronic low back pain (CLBP), though few are specifically intended to target the distinct underlying pathomechanisms causing low back pain. Restorative neurostimulation has been suggested as a specific treatment for mechanical CLBP resulting from multifidus dysfunction. In this randomized controlled trial, we report outcomes from a cohort of patients with CLBP associated with multifidus dysfunction treated with restorative neurostimulation compared to those randomized to a control group receiving optimal medical management (OMM) over 1 year.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The purpose of this systematic review was to evaluate the role of PSMA PET/CT in intermediate-risk prostate cancer (PCa) patients, to determine whether it could help improve treatment strategy and prognostic stratification. A systematic literature search up to May 2024 was conducted in the PubMed, Embase and Scopus databases. Articles with mixed risk patient populations, review articles, editorials, letters, comments, or case reports were excluded.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!