Key result
The fraction of clinical trials in acute postoperative pain published in top anesthesiology journals decreased from 16% (95% CI: 12-20) in 1992 to 11% (95% CI: 9-15) in 2007, despite improved quality.
Absolute Event Rate: 11% vs 16%
While the proportion of acute pain trials in top anesthesiology journals decreased between 1992 and 2007, their methodological quality significantly improved.
Decreasing share of acute postoperative pain trials in top journals may limit clinician access to emerging evidence; leaves open whether priorities or editorial policies are shifting.
The annual number of published clinical trials in acute postoperative pain in adults has changed little in 15 yr and, as a fraction of all clinical trials published in the six highest impact journals in anesthesiology, has actually decreased from 16% (95% confidence interval: 12-20) to 11% (95% confidence interval: 9-15). However, the methodological quality of reports has improved, with explicit statements on power analysis, allocation concealment, and specification of primary end points exceeding 90% of reports in 2007. There has been a shift in hypothesis interests away from neuraxial analgesia and toward multimodal analgesia.
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Mark Reeves (2009) conducted a review in acute postoperative pain. Publication year 2007 vs. Publication year 1992 was evaluated on Fraction of all clinical trials published in the six highest impact journals in anesthesiology. The fraction of clinical trials in acute postoperative pain published in top anesthesiology journals decreased from 16% (95% CI: 12-20) in 1992 to 11% (95% CI: 9-15) in 2007, despite improved quality.
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