Table 3 Assessment of CONSORT checklist items using an equal proportion of abstracts per journal ( n = 35)
Items | Assessment criteria | Overall, n (%) (n = 140) |
|---|---|---|
Title | Study identified as randomized in title | 104 (74.3) |
Authors | Addresses including postal and emails | 107 (76.4) |
Trial design | Descriptions provided (parallel, factorial, crossover, etc.) | 30 (21.4) |
Participants | Eligibility criteria with settings of data collection | 101 (72.1) |
Interventions | Details including denomination, usage, course of treatment for both groups | 133 (95.0) |
Objective | Specific objective/hypothesis | 118 (84.3) |
Outcome | Clearly defined primary outcome | 137 (97.9) |
Randomization | Reported the method of random sequence generation | 42 (30.0) |
| Â | Allocation concealment | 13 (9.3) |
Blinding | Detailed description* | 29 (20.7) |
Numbers randomized | Number of participants randomized in each group | 101 (72.1) |
Numbers analyzed | Number of participants analyzed for each group | 97 (69.3) |
Outcomes | Primary outcome result for each group | 115 (82.1) |
Harms | Adverse event or side effect reported | 45 (32.1) |
Conclusions | Discussed benefit or harm from the intervention | 31 (22.1) |
Trial registration | Reported registration number and name of trial register | 139 (99.3) |
Funding | Reported the source of funding | 54 (38.6) |