Assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the quality of evidence reported in the leading orthodontic journals

Abstract

Objectives: The objective of this study was to assess the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the quality of research reporting of the most recent orthodontic literature published in three of the highest impact factor orthodontic journals. Material and Methods: The American Journals of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics (AJODO), European Journal of Orthodontics (EJO), and Angle Orthodontist (AO) were searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published from January 2018 to March 2022. Trials were evaluated using the consolidated standards of reporting trial (CONSORT) checklist. Independent t-test was used to compare pre-COVID and post-COVID RCTs across CONSORT percentages and to compare journals where those trials were published. Multiple linear regressions were used to study the association of different characteristics with the CONSORT percentage scores. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: A total of 117 RCTs were retrieved from the three journals between January 2018 and March 2022. Thesample was classified as 63 pre-COVID studies (53.8%) and 54 (46.2%) post-COVID studies published in three orthodontics journals (27 in AJODO [23.1%], 45 [38.5%] in AO, and 45 [38.5%] in the EJO). The mean percentage of CONSORT compliance was 84.51% ± 14.34%. There was a statistically significant association of CONSORT scores with journals where the trials were published. Compared to AJODO, AO had a lower CONSORT percentage by an average of 18.81, P < 0.001. Independent t-test was performed to compare RCTs pre/post-COVID across CONSORT percentages. It showed no statistically significant difference as the mean compliance was 84.96 ± 16.01 for the pre-COVID studies and 83.99 ± 12.25 for post-COVID (P = 0.711). Conclusion: Overall, CONSORT mean score was 84.51% ± 14.34%. AJODO had the highest CONSORT compliance score while AO had the least compliance score. The quality of reporting of RCTs in orthodontic journals was not affected by the pandemic.