Publication Rate and Discontinuation Percentage of Registered Trials Involving Rotator Cuff Pathology

Background: Although many clinical trials are conducted on rotator cuff tears, a significant number of patient-enrolled studies remain unpublished, resulting in potential gaps in the sharing of scientific knowledge. Purpose: To analyze the publication rate and discontinuation percentage of registered trials involving rotator cuff pathology. Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Methods: A search for clinical trials was conducted in 4 different registries in a retrospective cohort study. Nontherapeutic studies, trials based on rehabilitation or anesthesia, or studies that had not completed recruitment and analysis before 2022 were excluded. The studies were classified according to their topic of interest, status in the registry, and funding. The sample size and study methods were also documented. The existence of an indexed publication in PubMed and Embase was verified, along with the final sample size included and the type of study. The corresponding authors of unpublished studies were contacted to explore the fate of the research project. The reasons for trial discontinuation were registered. Results: Of the 152 included trials, 60 (39.47%) were not published in an indexed journal and 36 (23.68%) were discontinued. Studies of biological treatments presented a greater risk of discontinuation than trials on other topics (38.18% vs 15.46%; P = .03). One-third of published trials (27.17%) presented major inconsistencies concerning the original registry data. Conclusion: Approximately 40% of the trials on rotator cuff tears were not published. Research on biological therapies showed a higher rate of discontinuation.