The quality of reporting of trial abstracts is suboptimal: Survey of major general medical journals

The abstract format of original articles: differences between imaging and non-imaging journals

“…In our study, similar values were found only for extended structured abstracts of non-imaging journals (13%) and IMRaD abstracts of imaging journals (61%), as reported in Table 3. Our data also agree with those obtained by Berwanger et al on the quality of abstracts reporting on randomized controlled trials published in the main general medical journals [5].…”

“…Analysis of abstract format has already been performed on general medical journals [5][6][7], and on medical education journals [8]. However, at the best of our knowledge, data on imaging journals are missing.…”

Is danshen (Salvia miltiorrhiza) dripping pill more effective than isosorbide dinitrate in treating angina pectoris? A systematic review of randomized controlled trials

“…The quality of the RCTs is a major issue. Previous sampled surveys [86][87][88][89][90] on the RCTs on traditional Chinese medicine conducted in China showed poor quality of RCT conduct and reporting. This systematic review found that most of retrieved RCTs are of low to medium quality.…”

Impact of the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) checklist on reporting of randomized clinical trials in traditional Chinese medicine

“…The effect of the adoption and use of the statement on the quality of the reporting of RCTs has been assessed by some disciplines using various approaches. Although preliminary appraisals suggest that the promotion of the CONSORT statement has been associated with improved RCT reporting (18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29)(30), persistent suboptimal reporting of RCTs has also been found (31)(32)(33). Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), which lies primarily in its holism and treatment based on syndrome differentiation, plays an important role in maintaining the health of the Chinese population (34).…”