32479 Level of evidence of COVID-19 articles in dermatology literature

Abstract

The drastic increase in the number of publications on COVID-19 poses a challenge for health care professionals to find a reliable source of information with a strong level of evidence. To address this issue, a comprehensive literature search was conducted in PubMed/MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane Central, and Google Scholar on COVID-related articles published in dermatology journals from Jan 2020 to May 2021. Level of evidence of the published articles were then analyzed using modified Oxford Center for Evidence-based Medicine (OCEBM). Of the 1928 published articles on COVID-19 in dermatology journals, letter to the editor was the most common article type followed by original articles/research letters, and editorial/commentary. Of all the dermatology journals, Dermatologic Therapy (18.8%) and JAAD (13.8%) have published the highest number of articles on COVID-19. The majority of the articles had a weak level of evidence (level 5) on the OCEBM scale. The strongest level of evidence (level 1a-2b) was identified in only 2.8% of the COVID-19 related articles in dermatology journals. Furthermore, 69% of the articles with level of evidence 1a-2b were published in 2021 compared with 31% in 2020. With more time since the emergence of COVID-19, we expect to see publications with stronger evidence. Indeed, our analysis showed an increase in publication of studies with the strongest level of evidence in 2021 compared with 2020. Our study highlights the paucity of publications with strong evidence following the appearance of a novel virus, as well as the progression to stronger evidence as researchers gain additional time and experience.