You are here

  • Home
  • Archive
  • Volume 101, Issue 10
  • Risk of bias assessment of randomised controlled trials in high-impact ophthalmology journals and general medical journals: a systematic review

Responses

Article menu
Download PDFPDF
Review
Risk of bias assessment of randomised controlled trials in high-impact ophthalmology journals and general medical journals: a systematic review
Compose a Response to This Article
Compose Response

More information about text formats

Plain text

  • No HTML tags allowed.
  • Web page addresses and e-mail addresses turn into links automatically.
  • Lines and paragraphs break automatically.
Author Information
First or given name, e.g. 'Peter'.
Your last, or family, name, e.g. 'MacMoody'.
Your email address, e.g. higgs-boson@gmail.com
Your role and/or occupation, e.g. 'Orthopedic Surgeon'.
Your organization or institution (if applicable), e.g. 'Royal Free Hospital'.
Statement of Competing Interests

PLEASE NOTE:

  • Responses are moderated before posting and publication is at the absolute discretion of BMJ, however they are not peer-reviewed
  • Once published, you will not have the right to remove or edit your response. Removal or editing of responses is at BMJ's absolute discretion
  • If patients could recognise themselves, or anyone else could recognise a patient from your description, please obtain the patient's written consent to publication and send them to the editorial office before submitting your response [Patient consent forms]
  • By submitting this response you are agreeing to our full [Response terms and requirements]

Vertical Tabs

Other responses

Jump to comment:

  • Published on: 13 October 2017
    Building a reliable evidence base in eyes and vision
    • Kay Dickersin, Professor Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
    • Other Contributors:
      • Barbara S. Hawkins, Professor Emerita
      • Jimmy T. Le, Doctoral Student
      • Tianjing Li, Associate Professor
      • Ian J. Saldanha, Assistant Scientist
      • Roberta W. Scherer, Senior Scientist
      • Gianni Virgili, Associate Professor of Ophthalmology

    Dear Editors,

    We are writing to express concerns about an article published recently in BJO. (1) While Joksimovic and colleagues claim to have conducted a systematic review, they did not. Rather, they describe a cross-sectional study of randomized trials in ophthalmology with two comparison (or “exposure”) groups: trials published in ophthalmology journals, and trials published in general medical journals. In contrast, a systematic review (also a cross sectional study) has been defined as "… a scientific investigation that focuses on a specific question and uses explicit, prespecified scientific methods to identify, select, assess, and summarize the findings of similar but separate studies." (2)

    To minimize mislabeling of systematic reviews, among other purposes, Cochrane Eyes and Vision (CEV) is partnering with individual ophthalmology and optometry journals to appoint a knowledgeable associate editor responsible for editorial functions related to systematic reviews at each journal (http://eyes.cochrane.org/associate-editors-eyes-and-vision-journals). Our research has indicated that many published eye and vision articles billed as “systematic reviews” do not adhere to accepted criteria, and are not reliable. (3)

    In addition to adding associate editors for systematic reviews to their team, journal editors can insist that authors adhere to reporting standards, f...

    Show More
    Conflict of Interest:
    Kay Dickersin, MA, PhD (corresponding author)
    Cochrane Eyes and Vision Group, US Satellite
    Potential conflicts of interest and financial disclosures: Salary support from the National Eye Institute grant that funds the work of Cochrane Eyes and Vision US.

    Barbara S. Hawkins, PhD
    The Wilmer Eye Institute
    Cochrane Eyes and Vision Group, US Satellite
    Potential conflicts of interest and financial disclosures: Salary support from the National Eye Institute grant that funds the work of Cochrane Eyes and Vision US.

    Jimmy T. Le, MA
    Cochrane Eyes and Vision Group, US Satellite
    Potential conflicts of interest and financial disclosures: None

    Tianjing Li, MD, PhD, MHS
    Cochrane Eyes and Vision Group, US Satellite
    Potential conflicts of interest and financial disclosures: Salary support from the National Eye Institute grant that funds the work of Cochrane Eyes and Vision US.

    Ian J. Saldanha, MBBS, MPH, PhD
    Cochrane Eyes and Vision Group, US Satellite
    Potential conflicts of interest and financial disclosures: Salary support from the National Eye Institute grant that funds the work of Cochrane Eyes and Vision US.

    Roberta W. Scherer, PhD
    Cochrane Eyes and Vision Group, US Satellite
    Potential conflicts of interest and financial disclosures: Salary support from the National Eye Institute grant that funds the work of Cochrane Eyes and Vision US.

    Gianni Virgili, MD
    Cochrane Eyes and Vision Group, Italian Satellite
    Potential conflicts of interest and financial disclosures: None