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LETTER TO THE EDITOR

The Assessment of Publication Quality

Department of Anaesthesia; Changhai Hospital; Second Military Medical University; Shanghai, China; deng_x{at}yahoo.com

To the Editor:

In a recent paper, Swaminathan et al.1 reported results of a bibliometric analysis of global clinical research performed by individuals from anesthesia departments. As part of this analysis, one metric assessing quality was the type of publication wherein randomized controlled trials were judged the highest followed by controlled clinical trials, clinical trials, evaluation and/or validation studies, and finally meta-analyses.

In our opinion, this ordering of publication importance may mislead readers regarding the importance of meta-analyses. In the categories of the quality and strength of evidence, modified from Eccles et al.,2 evidence from properly performed meta- analyses of randomized controlled trials represent good evidence to support treatment.3 Thus, the conclusions and recommendations emanating from meta-analyses may be vital for anesthesiologists.

REFERENCES

1. Swaminathan M, Phillips-Bute BG, Grichnik KP. A bibliometric analysis of global clinical research by anesthesia departments. Anesth Analg 2007;105:1741–6[Abstract/Free Full Text]
2. Eccles M, Freemantle N, Mason J. North of England evidence based guidelines development project: methods of developing guidelines for efficient drug use in primary care. BMJ 1998;316:1232–5[Free Full Text]
3. Pedersen T, Moller AM, Cracknell J. The mission of the Cochrane Anesthesia Review Group: preparing and disseminating systematic reviews of the effect of health care in anesthesiology. Anesth Analg 2002;95:1012–8[Abstract/Free Full Text]

This article has been cited by other articles:

				M. Swaminathan, B. G. Phillips-Bute, and K. P. Grichnik The Assessment of Publication Quality Anesth. Analg., May 1, 2008; 106(5): 1590 - 1590. [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 Bo, L.-L. Articles by Deng, X.-M. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Bo, L.-L. Articles by Deng, X.-M.