Can we trust studies published by authors with financial conflicts? Using the decline of metal-on-metal total hip arthroplasty to investigate.
The objective of our study was to determine if authors with conflicts of interest are less likely to report negative study outcomes in metal-on-metal total hip arthroplasty. We performed a systematic review of 3 major orthopedic journals for articles related to metal-on-metal total hip arthroplasty over 12 years. A total of 64 studies reported clinical outcomes and were included. Reviewers assigned a positive, neutral, or negative label. Each study was noted for the presence of absence of a financial conflict. There was a significant trend from positive to negative study outcomes over time (P = .015). A similar negative trend was seen in studies written by authors with financial disclosures (P = .021). Authors with financial conflicts have contributed to the increase in negative outcomes reported in the literature.
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA.
Jason E
JE
Hsu
Stephen Y
SY
Liu
Gwo-Chin
GC
Lee
D019644:Arthroplasty, Replacement, Hip; D001319:Authorship / Q000592:standards*; D016265:Conflict of Interest; D030881:Disclosure; D006622:Hip Prosthesis; D006801:Humans; D061825:Metal-on-Metal Joint Prostheses; D011643:Publishing / Q000592:standards*; D017211:Treatment Failure; D014481:United States