Objective To evaluate the quality of randomized controlled trials in otorhinolaryngology in China and provide to comprehend the possibility of its contribution in providing reliable, evidence in clinical practice; thus providing evidence to elevate the clinical treatment level. Methods Five Chinese clinical otorhinolaryngology journals were searched and randomized controlled trials were identified and analyzed according to the standards of evidence-based medicine. Results Two hundred and eighty seven issues were referred to and eighty-one randomized controlled trials were identified and analyzed. Of these randomized controlled trials, 34.57% (28/81) had definite diagnostic standards, 38.27% (31/81) had inclusion standards and 33.33% (27/81) had exclusion standards; only 1.23% (1/81) got the approval of the participants; 40.74% (33/81) had moderate sample size; 3.70% (3/81) had large sample size and no one mentioned sample size estimation; 81.48% (66/81) didn’t report the method of randomization and 38.27% (31/81) had baseline comparison; 18.52% (15/81) didn’t define the control interventions and 8.64% (7/81) even didn’t explicate the experimental interventions; 32.10% (26/81) used blank comparison; 86.42% (70/81) didn’t use blindness; 37.04% (30/81) didn’t mention the adverse effects; 23.46% (19/81) used accredited standards to evaluate the outcomes; l l.11% (9/81) mentioned the loss of participants and only 1.23% (1/81) treated the loss with statistics methods. Conclusions The quantity and quality of the otorbinolaryngologic randomized controlled trials in present review can not meet the clinical need. Higher quality of randomized controlled trials are required to improve the level of prevention and the treatment of otorhinolaryngologic diseases.
This article carries out a comprehensive review on otorhinolaryngologic-head and neck informatics, focusing on the definition, content and characteristics of otorhinolaryngologic informatics as well as the application of computer, communication and information technology in otorhinolaryngology-head and neck surgery. Otorhinolaryngologic informatics is the future development direction of otorhinolaryngology-head and neck surgery.
Objective To assess the frequency and the proportion of correct use of statistical analytic methods in five Chinese otorhinolaryngological journals from 2000 to 2002. Methods The statistical methods used in all original articles (n=1 331) published in these journals in three years were evaluated. Results Only 52.0 % of the articles were used statistical analytic methods. And the frequency was higher in basic research (63.5%) than that in clinical research (48.7%) (P＜0.01). The proportions of correct use of statistical analytic methods in the five journals varied from 48.7% to 72.7%, with an average rate of 56.5%. The most frequently used statistical methods were t tests (37.9%), contingency tables (chi-square test) (28.2%) and ANOVAs (14.3%). The most common errors were on the presentation of P values without specifying the test used, using t tests instead of ANOVAs in the comparison among three and more groups, and using unpaired t tests when paired tests were required. Conclusions The rate of application statistical analytic methods is rather high, but incorrect or inappropriate use remain a serious problem.