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Website shows nearly 39% publication rate for spine studies
Researcher Donna D. Ohnmeiss, DrMed, analyzed studies published on the international website ClinicalTrials.gov and found the website had a nearly 39% publication rate for spine-related studies.
Ohnmeiss conducted multiple searches on ClinicalTrials.gov to find studies related to commonly treated spinal conditions, such as stenosis and degenerative disc disease, and identified 263 spine-related studies. A total of 72 were classified as complete, 70 were active but not recruiting and 21 were posted before initiation or shortly thereafter, according to Ohnmeiss. Of the remaining studies, 74 were recruiting, 11 were recruiting by invitation, 13 were not yet recruiting, 18 were terminated, four were withdrawn and one was suspended.
Of the studies classified as complete, Ohnmeiss found 28 (38.9%) had been published, with a mean time of 27.9 months from the time of study completion to publication. This rate was similar to the 22.8% publication rate for arthroplasty trials and 43.2% for orthopedic trauma trials reported by other studies, according to Ohnmeiss.
Ohnmeiss observed no difference in the likelihood of publication based on the geographic regions from which the studies originated, or on whether the studies were registered before or after initiation. However, the rate of publication was found to be statistically significantly related to the studies’ funding and research types; industrial-funded studies, as well as those in which devices were evaluated, had lower publication rates, whereas studies funded by a federal agency and those that compared surgery with nonoperative care had the highest publication rates, Ohnmeiss reported.
The website, Ohnmeiss concluded, provides tracking publication of prospective studies and fulfills the goal of providing patients information about clinical studies. – by Robert Linnehan
Disclosure: Ohnmeiss reports no relevant financial disclosures.