BackgroundThere is a high prevalence of financial conflicts of interest (COI) between physicians and industry.ObjectivesTo conduct a systematic review with meta-analysis examining the completeness of self-reported financial COI disclosures by physicians, and identify factors associated with non-disclosure.Data sourcesMEDLINE, Embase and PsycINFO were searched for eligible studies up to April 2020 and supplemented with material identified in the references and citing articles.Data extraction and synthesisData were independently abstracted by two authors. Data synthesis was performed via systematic review of eligible studies and random-effects meta-analysis.Main outcomes and measuresThe proportion of discrepancies between physician self-reported disclosures and objective payment data was the main outcome. The proportion of discrepant funds and factors associated with non-disclosure were also examined.Results40 studies were included. The pooled proportion of COI discrepancies at the article level was 81% (range: 54%–98%; 95% CI 72% to 89%), 79% at the payment level (range: 71%–89%; 95% CI 67% to 89%), 93% at the authorship level (range: 71%–100%; 95% CI 79% to 100%) and 66% at the author level (range: 8%–99%; 95% CI 48% to 78%). The proportion of funds discrepant was 33% (range: 2%–77%; 95% CI 12% to 58%). There was high heterogeneity between studies across all five analyses (I2=94%–99%). Most undisclosed COI were related to food and beverage, or travel and lodging. While the most common explanation for failure to disclose was perceived irrelevance, a median of 45% of non-disclosed payments were directly or indirectly related to the work. A smaller monetary amount was the most common factor associated with nondisclosure.ConclusionsPhysician self-reports of financial COI are highly discrepant with objective data sources reporting payments from industry. Stronger policies are required to reduce reliance on physician self-reporting of financial COI and address non-compliance.
To review the effect of tumor necrosis factor-alpha inhibitor (TNFi) therapies on radiographic progression in ankylosing spondylitis (AS) patients as evaluated by the modified Stoke Ankylosing Spondylitis Spine Score (mSASSS). Pubmed, MEDLINE, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library databases were searched from inception to August 2019. All comparative and non-comparative studies that evaluated the clinical effectiveness of TNFi on radiographic progression as assessed by mSASSS change at a minimum follow-up of 1 year were included. The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale and Cochrane Collaboration Risk of Bias Tool were utilized to assess the methodological quality. Pooled analysis was performed for continuous and binomial variables where appropriate. Inter-rater reliability of mSASSS status and change scores were assessed with intra-class coefficients (ICC). Twenty-one studies were identified with a total of 4460 patients (mean age: 40.4 years [range 25.3-50 years]; 76% male; mean baseline mSASSS: 12.7 units [range 5.5-19.8 units]). All studies (3 randomized and 18 observational studies) were considered to have moderate-to-high methodological quality. The inter-rater reliability of mSASSS status and change scores from 14 of the 21 studies were excellent (ICC ranges, 0.91-0.99) and moderate-to-excellent (ICC ranges, 0.58-0.90), respectively. From the 21 studies, 11/21 (50%) demonstrated a delayed effect in mSASSS in AS patient administered TNFi. When stratifying these studies into those with ≤4 years of follow-up and >4 years follow-up, 3/11 (27%) and 8/10 (80%) studies respectively indicated a delayed effect of mSASSS with TNFi in AS patients. Pooling for meta-analysis from 3 studies (1159 patients) with study durations ranging 4-8 years, indicated that TNFi-treated patients had reduced odds of structural progression (odds ratio 0.81; 95% CI 0.68-0.96; P = .01; I 2 = 0%). Mean rate of mSASSS change from 16 studies ranged from −0.15 to 7.3 mSASSS units for all AS patients. Meta-analysis indicated a numerical, but statistically non-significant, reduction in the rate of mSASSS change with TNFi treatment (7 studies [1438 patients]; mean difference, −0.24; 95% CI, −0.49-0.01; P = .06; I 2 = 0%). This systematic review | 729 AJRAWAT eT Al.
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