Spin in randomized controlled trials of pharmacology in COVID-19: A systematic review
Year: 2023
Type: review
Study design: Systematic Review
Abstract: Spin, defined as the misrepresentation of the results of a study, could negate the validity of scientific findings. To explore the manifestation of spin, and identify the factors affecting spin in COVID-19 RCTs, a systematic review was performed from PubMed/Medline, National Institutes of Health, EMBASE, Cochrane, and Web of Science. RCTs on pharmacotherapy for COVID-19 with nonsignificant primary outcomes published in 2020 were included. 21 abstracts (33.9%) and 28 main texts (45.2%) were found to contain spin in at least one section. In the conclusion section, other spin strategies beautifying their findings that were not included in the abstract were found in the main texts. More factors influencing the level of spin were found in abstracts than in the main texts, but most of the levels of spin in abstracts were comparable to those in the main texts. Although common factors that affected the manifestation of spin in the main texts and abstracts were the sample size and type of journal, further research to determine multicollinearity between significant factors and the manifestation of spin is required.
Source: Accountability in Research
Institutions: Chung-Ang University, Kyung Hee University, Kyung Hee University Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University, Yonsei University, Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats, Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental, Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de Déu, The University of Sydney, Flinders University, Anglia Ruskin University, Yonsei University Health System
Language: English
Subfield: Statistics, Probability and Uncertainty
Field: Decision Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W4387515733