The scandal of poor medical research
BMJPublished 29 January 1994
D G Altman
Citations872
Generate an AI Snapshot to get a quick, structured summary of this paper.
Study Snapshot
ObjectiveStudy objective
MethodsResearch methodology
PopulationPopulation studied
Sample sizeSample sizes
OutcomesStudy outcomes here
ResultsStudy results comes here
LimitationsResearch study limitations comes here
A concise AI-generated summary of the paper will appear here once you click Generate AI Snapshot.
TL;DR
The authors need less research, better research, and research done for the right reasons, and researchers who use the wrong techniques, use the right techniques wrongly, misinterpret their results, report their results selectively, cite the literature selectively, and draw unjustified conclusions.
Keywords
MedicineHealth Professions
New England Journal of MedicineWithdrawal of Digoxin from Patients with Chronic Heart Failure Treated with Angiotensin-Converting-Enzyme Inhibitors
827 Citations1993Milton Packer, Mihai Gheorghiade +8 more
These findings indicate that the withdrawal of digoxin carries considerable risks for patients with chronic heart failure and impaired systolic function who have remained clinically stable while receiving digoxin and angiotensin-converting-enzyme inhibitors.
New England Journal of MedicineStatistical Problems in the Reporting of Clinical Trials
669 Citations1987Stuart Pocock, Michael D. Hughes +1 more
Overall, the reporting of clinical trials appears to be biased toward an exaggeration of treatment differences, and more emphasis should be given to the magnitude of treatment Differences and to estimation methods such as confidence intervals.
Controlled Clinical TrialsMethodology and overt and hidden bias in reports of 196 double-blind trials of nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs in rheumatoid arthritis
336 Citations1989Peter C Gøtzsche
Important design aspects were decreasingly reported in NSAID trials over the years, whereas the quality of statistical analysis improved, and it is not obvious how a reliable meta-analysis could be done in these trials.
Statistics in MedicineStatistics in medical journals
228 Citations1982Douglas G. Altman
The general standard of statistics in medical journals is poor and the reasons for this are considered with illustrations of the types of error that are common, and the consequences of incorrect statistics in published papers are discussed.
The American Journal of MedicineImpact of multiple comparisons in randomized clinical trials
92 Citations1987David G. Smith, John D. Clemens +3 more
There still exists a great need for future work to clarify further the problem of multiple comparisons and determine how the impact of this problem can best be minimized in subsequent research.
British Journal of DermatologyInadequate size of 'negative' clinical trials in dermatology
67 Citations1993Hywel C Williams, Paul T. Seed
Fifty‐eight clinical trials with negative conclusions, published in three British dermatological journals over the last 4 years, were reviewed and it was found that in half of the studies there was an incorrect interpretation of the findings.
British journal of surgeryThe task of a statistical referee
64 Citations1988Gordon Murray
The flaws in the design of published studies, and in particular the many instances of inadequate sample sizes, emphasize that statistical input should be sought at the beginning of a research project rather than at the end.
Trends in Endocrinology and MetabolismScreening for congenital hypothyroidism
36 Citations1991Delbert A. Fisher
Annals of Internal MedicineMethodological Errors in Medical Research. An Incomplete Catalogue
26 Citations1991
The problem miscellaneous examples cohort or case-control design a priori hypotheses or fishing expeditions a question of control bias 1 bias 2 regression towards the mean before-after comparsions cross-sectional design diagnostic methods screening the sampling unit.
Clinical Pharmacology & TherapeuticsBailar's laws of data analysis
19 Citations1976John C. Bailar
If Newton's apple had fallen up, the authors might have some odd ideas about the laws of gravity.
Journal of the Royal College of Physicians of LondonStatisticians in Medical Schools
12 Citations1990John M. Bland, Doug Altman +1 more
The general lack of expertise in medical statistics is clear from the literature, from numerous critical studies, and there is not enough for the work to be done.
Clinical Pharmacology & TherapeuticsTherapeutics and government: 1776 and 1976
3 Citations1976William B. Abrams