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LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Ethics, Marketing, and the Medical Literature

Department of Anesthesiology, University of Mississippi School of Medicine, Jackson, MS, gmychaskiw{at}anesthesia.umsmed.edu

To the Editor:

We are troubled by the recent exchange of letters between Dr. White (1) and Drs. Roberson and Meyer (2) regarding conflict of interest in a recent comparison of dolasetron with ondansetron (3). In particular, the explanation of the article’s failure to disclose Dr. McLeskey’s potential conflict of interest is insufficient. Dr. McLeskey is not merely an employee of Abbott Laboratories. He is the Global Medical Director/Global Marketing Director of Anesthesia and Sedation. Abbott Laboratories markets dolasetron under the trade name "Anzamet." Although the study was completed 5 yr ago, Dr. McLeskey was employed by Abbott Laboratories during the writing and editing of the study.

We are also troubled by the description of this study as a "practical clinical trial...derived from practical choices facing clinicians" (2). The choice to ignore prophylactic antiemetic use differs substantially enough from common practice as to render the conditions of the study irrelevant to most clinical situations.

We have recently commented on other prominent authors failing to disclose significant conflicts of interest (4). Pharmaceutical industry funding of research and education is important, but a thoughtful evaluation of scientific literature demands full disclosure of even potential conflicts of interest. The failure to disclose the conflict of interest is less than ethical and blurs the distinction between objective science and biased marketing.

References

1. White PF. Treatment of postoperative nausea and vomiting with dolasetron versus ondansetron: is there a conflict of interest? Anesth Analg 2005;101:1887.[Free Full Text]
2. Roberson CR, Meyer TA. In response. Anesth Analg 2005;101:1887–8.[Free Full Text]
3. Meyer TA, Roberson CR, Rajab MH, et al. Dolasetron versus ondansetron for the treatment of postoperative nausea and vomiting. Anesth Analg 2005;100:373–7.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
4. Mychaskiw G, Badr AE. Case series or uncontrolled clinical study? Anesthesiology 2005;102:1066.[Web of Science][Medline]

This article has been cited by other articles:

				S. L. Shafer Ethics, Marketing, and the Medical Literature Anesth. Analg., August 1, 2006; 103(2): 488 - 488. [Full Text] [PDF]

				P. F. White Ethics, Marketing, and the Medical Literature Anesth. Analg., August 1, 2006; 103(2): 488 - 489. [Full Text] [PDF]

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a colleague Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Request Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Web of Science (1) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Mychaskiw, G. Articles by Calimaran, A. M. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Mychaskiw, G., II Articles by Calimaran, A. M.