Reporting disclosures to the reader in plastic surgery journal publications

Background With the associations between investigators and funding sources becoming increasingly complicated, conflicts of interest may arise that could potentially cause biases in the reporting of results. Objective To determine the number of published plastic surgery articles that lack reporting of disclosures. Methods An online review of four major North American plastic surgery journal publications from January 1, 2007 to December 31, 2007, was performed. For identification and to provide anonymity, journals were assigned a letter from A to D. Results Of the 1759 articles reviewed, 726 (41%) were included. Disclosure was not reported in 368 (51%) articles: Journal A (n=10, 3%), Journal B (n=153, 85%), Journal C (n=193, 93%) and Journal D (n=12, 32%). Journals differed significantly in their reporting of disclosure (P<0.01). Conclusion In the plastic surgery journals reviewed, the lack of documentation of disclosures was frequent. To ensure identification of bias in plastic surgery publications, a section dedicated to disclosure statements is recommended for each published article.