Quality of reporting and its correlates among randomized controlled trials on acupuncture for cancer pain: Application of the CONSORT 2010 Statement
Objectives: Pharmacologic treatment for cancer pain has some limitations; acupuncture may have a role in the management of cancer pain.More and more researches on acupuncture for cancer pain are emerging,but it lacks a comprehensive evaluation for the reporting quality.This study aims to analyze the quality of reporting and its correlates in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on acupuncture for cancer pain.Methods: A search in multiple databases of reports published between 1995 and August,2012 followed by an examination and critical appraisal of reporting in RCTs on acupuncture for cancer pain with two reviewers.All reports had been examined to describe their general characteristics and evaluate the quality of their reporting.Quality of reporting was assessed against a subset of criteria adapted from the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) 2010 statement.An overall quality score (OQS) and a combined key methodologic index score (MIS) was calculated for each trial.Then,factors associated with OQS and MIS were identified.Results: A total of 32 RCTs were included in full text.The frequency of RCTs was found to increase over time: from 7 (21.88%) in 1995-2000 to 14 (43.75%) in 2007-August,2012.Of the 32 RCT papers,29 (90.63%) were written in Chinese; 30 (93.75%) included papers were written by authors in Chinese research institutes; only six articles (18.75%) reported their sources of funding; the largest number of interventions comprised of sole acupuncture (20 reports; 62.50%) followed by acupuncture plus other therapies (12 reports; 37.50%).A substantial,good or perfect agreement was observed for all items.The median OQS was 4.0,with a minimum of 1 and a maximum of 12.However,the quality of reporting in items of “randomized in the title or abstract”,“sample size”,“flow chart”,“recruitment”,“outcomes and estimation” and “ancillary analyses” was very poor with positive rate of less than 10%.The median MIS was 0 with a minimum of 0 and a maximum of 3.Twenty-eight (88%) did not report any of the three key methodologic items.The mean OQS increased by about 6.77 for manuscripts with collaborations of Chinese and foreign researchers or only by foreign researchers (95%CI,4.12 to 9.42; P<0.01),while it increased by about 1.73 for manuscripts published in the period of 5-year increments (95%CI,0.91 to 2.56; P<0.01).With regard to the MIS,publication language with a high impact-factor remained independent and significant predictors of MIS.Specifically,the IRR (incidence rate ratio) of manuscript published in English to Chinese is 2.27 (95% CI,0.31 to 4.23; P= 0.02).Conclusion: The quality of reporting in RCTS on acupuncture for cancer pain between 1995 and August,2012 was poor.Many of the RCTs didn’t adhere to CONSORT guidelines.This indicates that RCTS on acupuncture for cancer pain needs substantial improvement in order to meet the level of “reporting quality” required by the CONSORT Statement.
acupuncture quality of reporting randomized controlled trials (RCTs) cancer pain the CONSORT Statement
Liming Lu Jingchun Zeng
Faculty of Medical Statistics and Epidemiology,School of Public Health,Sun Yat-sen University,Guangz Department of Dermatology,The People Hospital of Pingyang,Wenzhou 325400,China
国内会议
第五届国际中医、中西医结合肿瘤学术交流大会暨第十四届全国中西医结合肿瘤学术大会
广州
英文
1-10
2014-07-01（万方平台首次上网日期，不代表论文的发表时间）