General Medical Journals Research Articles

Do Case-Control Studies Always Estimate Odds Ratios?

Case-control studies are an important part of the epidemiologic literature, yet confusion remains about how to interpret estimates from different case-control study designs. We demonstrate that not all case-control study designs estimate odds ratios. On the contrary, case-control studies in the literature often report odds ratios as their main parameter even when using designs that do not estimate odds ratios. Only studies using specific case-control designs should report odds ratios, whereas the case-cohort and incidence-density sampled case-control studies must report risk ratio and incidence rate ratios, respectively. This also applies to case-control studies conducted in open cohorts, which often estimate incidence rate ratios. We also demonstrate the misinterpretation of case-control study estimates in a small sample of highly cited case-control studies in general epidemiologic and medical journals. We therefore suggest that greater care be taken when considering which parameter is to be reported from a case-control study.

Evaluation of propensity score used in cardiovascular research: a cross-sectional survey and guidance document

BackgroundPropensity score (PS) methods are frequently used in cardiovascular clinical research. Previous evaluations revealed poor reporting of PS methods, however a comprehensive and current evaluation of PS use and reporting...

Understanding the ward environment: factors determining medical students’ ‘ward smarts’

The British Student Doctor Journal is a high quality, open access, biannual, peer-reviewed, general medical journal, which publishes articles written primarily by medical students. In addition to publishing original research and systematic reviews, we also provide a platform to medical students to express original thought and reflections on clinical practice, student life and medical education.All of our content is fully open access, available without subscription and with no authorship charges. All articles published in The British Student Doctor Journal go through a rigorous peer-review process, led by our student editorial team. The governance of the journal is overseen by our faculty advisory board, and we are published by Cardiff University Press and funded by Cardiff University School of Medicine.For more information, please visit our homepage at www.bsdj.org.uk.

Editorial: Publishing in a pandemic

The British Student Doctor Journal is a high quality, open access, biannual, peer-reviewed, general medical journal, which publishes articles written primarily by medical students. In addition to publishing original research and systematic reviews, we also provide a platform to medical students to express original thought and reflections on clinical practice, student life and medical education.All of our content is fully open access, available without subscription and with no authorship charges. All articles published in The British Student Doctor Journal go through a rigorous peer-review process, led by our student editorial team. The governance of the journal is overseen by our faculty advisory board, and we are published by Cardiff University Press and funded by Cardiff University School of Medicine.For more information, please visit our homepage at www.bsdj.org.uk.

Race and the medical school curriculum

The British Student Doctor Journal is a high quality, open access, biannual, peer-reviewed, general medical journal, which publishes articles written primarily by medical students. In addition to publishing original research and systematic reviews, we also provide a platform to medical students to express original thought and reflections on clinical practice, student life and medical education.All of our content is fully open access, available without subscription and with no authorship charges. All articles published in The British Student Doctor Journal go through a rigorous peer-review process, led by our student editorial team. The governance of the journal is overseen by our faculty advisory board, and we are published by Cardiff University Press and funded by Cardiff University School of Medicine.For more information, please visit our homepage at www.bsdj.org.uk.

Reflective medical electives in a developed country: Perspective of a final year student from a developing country

The British Student Doctor Journal is a high quality, open access, biannual, peer-reviewed, general medical journal, which publishes articles written primarily by medical students. In addition to publishing original research and systematic reviews, we also provide a platform to medical students to express original thought and reflections on clinical practice, student life and medical education.All of our content is fully open access, available without subscription and with no authorship charges. All articles published in The British Student Doctor Journal go through a rigorous peer-review process, led by our student editorial team. The governance of the journal is overseen by our faculty advisory board, and we are published by Cardiff University Press and funded by Cardiff University School of Medicine.For more information, please visit our homepage at www.bsdj.org.uk.

Corticosteroid use in cardiac surgery: a systematic review and meta-analysis

The British Student Doctor Journal is a high quality, open access, biannual, peer-reviewed, general medical journal, which publishes articles written primarily by medical students. In addition to publishing original research and systematic reviews, we also provide a platform to medical students to express original thought and reflections on clinical practice, student life and medical education.All of our content is fully open access, available without subscription and with no authorship charges. All articles published in The British Student Doctor Journal go through a rigorous peer-review process, led by our student editorial team. The governance of the journal is overseen by our faculty advisory board, and we are published by Cardiff University Press and funded by Cardiff University School of Medicine.For more information, please visit our homepage at www.bsdj.org.uk.

Obesity as a disability and health risk

The British Student Doctor Journal is a high quality, open access, biannual, peer-reviewed, general medical journal, which publishes articles written primarily by medical students. In addition to publishing original research and systematic reviews, we also provide a platform to medical students to express original thought and reflections on clinical practice, student life and medical education.All of our content is fully open access, available without subscription and with no authorship charges. All articles published in The British Student Doctor Journal go through a rigorous peer-review process, led by our student editorial team. The governance of the journal is overseen by our faculty advisory board, and we are published by Cardiff University Press and funded by Cardiff University School of Medicine.For more information, please visit our homepage at www.bsdj.org.uk.

Balint groups: a doctor-student mutual investment company

The British Student Doctor Journal is a high quality, open access, biannual, peer-reviewed, general medical journal, which publishes articles written primarily by medical students. In addition to publishing original research and systematic reviews, we also provide a platform to medical students to express original thought and reflections on clinical practice, student life and medical education.All of our content is fully open access, available without subscription and with no authorship charges. All articles published in The British Student Doctor Journal go through a rigorous peer-review process, led by our student editorial team. The governance of the journal is overseen by our faculty advisory board, and we are published by Cardiff University Press and funded by Cardiff University School of Medicine.For more information, please visit our homepage at www.bsdj.org.uk.

Should healthcare professionals be concerned about the quality of sleep their patients have?

The British Student Doctor Journal is a high quality, open access, biannual, peer-reviewed, general medical journal, which publishes articles written primarily by medical students. In addition to publishing original research and systematic reviews, we also provide a platform to medical students to express original thought and reflections on clinical practice, student life and medical education.All of our content is fully open access, available without subscription and with no authorship charges. All articles published in The British Student Doctor Journal go through a rigorous peer-review process, led by our student editorial team. The governance of the journal is overseen by our faculty advisory board, and we are published by Cardiff University Press and funded by Cardiff University School of Medicine.For more information, please visit our homepage at www.bsdj.org.uk.

“We’re in this together”

The British Student Doctor Journal is a high quality, open access, biannual, peer-reviewed, general medical journal, which publishes articles written primarily by medical students. In addition to publishing original research and systematic reviews, we also provide a platform to medical students to express original thought and reflections on clinical practice, student life and medical education.All of our content is fully open access, available without subscription and with no authorship charges. All articles published in The British Student Doctor Journal go through a rigorous peer-review process, led by our student editorial team. The governance of the journal is overseen by our faculty advisory board, and we are published by Cardiff University Press and funded by Cardiff University School of Medicine.For more information, please visit our homepage at www.bsdj.org.uk.

Lymphoedema - a chronic disease, not a side effect

The British Student Doctor Journal is a high quality, open access, biannual, peer-reviewed, general medical journal, which publishes articles written primarily by medical students. In addition to publishing original research and systematic reviews, we also provide a platform to medical students to express original thought and reflections on clinical practice, student life and medical education.All of our content is fully open access, available without subscription and with no authorship charges. All articles published in The British Student Doctor Journal go through a rigorous peer-review process, led by our student editorial team. The governance of the journal is overseen by our faculty advisory board, and we are published by Cardiff University Press and funded by Cardiff University School of Medicine.For more information, please visit our homepage at www.bsdj.org.uk.

“The data will see you now”: digital literacy in the medical profession

The British Student Doctor Journal is a high quality, open access, biannual, peer-reviewed, general medical journal, which publishes articles written primarily by medical students. In addition to publishing original research and systematic reviews, we also provide a platform to medical students to express original thought and reflections on clinical practice, student life and medical education.All of our content is fully open access, available without subscription and with no authorship charges. All articles published in The British Student Doctor Journal go through a rigorous peer-review process, led by our student editorial team. The governance of the journal is overseen by our faculty advisory board, and we are published by Cardiff University Press and funded by Cardiff University School of Medicine.For more information, please visit our homepage at www.bsdj.org.uk.

Bibliometric analysis of the most cited articles in urolithiasis

Urolithiasis is a common kidney disease affecting people in the world. The study aimed to carry out a bibliometric analysis of the most cited articles in urolithiasis and to identify the impact of research, active journals, productive country, and productive institution. The top most cited 100 publications indexed in the Scopus database were retrieved as study sample. The period of the study was limited up to the year 2019. The study gives an understanding of the global research trend and the impact of research publications among the scientific community. Twenty-five percent (25%) of the most cited articles were published between the years 2004 and 2007.The average citation per article was 542. The United States was the most productive country in the world regarding the research in this field. The Emory University of Atlanta in the United States was the highest contributing institution on urolithiasis research. Internationally more prominent weekly published general medical journals such as New England Journal of Medicine and Lancet, were the most active journals publishing mostly cited articles in urolithiasis. The findings of this study is useful to the researchers, who involve in research in urolithiasis. The study provides intellectual milestones in urolithiasis research reflecting the characteristics of the most cited published literature.

Evidence of unexplained discrepancies between planned and conducted statistical analyses: a review of randomised trials

BackgroundChoosing or altering the planned statistical analysis approach after examination of trial data (often referred to as ‘p-hacking’) can bias the results of randomised trials. However, the extent of this issue in practice is currently unclear. We conducted a review of published randomised trials to evaluate how often a pre-specified analysis approach is publicly available, and how often the planned analysis is changed.MethodsA review of randomised trials published between January and April 2018 in six leading general medical journals. For each trial, we established whether a pre-specified analysis approach was publicly available in a protocol or statistical analysis plan and compared this to the trial publication.ResultsOverall, 89 of 101 eligible trials (88%) had a publicly available pre-specified analysis approach. Only 22/89 trials (25%) had no unexplained discrepancies between the pre-specified and conducted analysis. Fifty-four trials (61%) had one or more unexplained discrepancies, and in 13 trials (15%), it was impossible to ascertain whether any unexplained discrepancies occurred due to incomplete reporting of the statistical methods. Unexplained discrepancies were most common for the analysis model (n = 31, 35%) and analysis population (n = 28, 31%), followed by the use of covariates (n = 23, 26%) and the approach for handling missing data (n = 16, 18%). Many protocols or statistical analysis plans were dated after the trial had begun, so earlier discrepancies may have been missed.ConclusionsUnexplained discrepancies in the statistical methods of randomised trials are common. Increased transparency is required for proper evaluation of results.

Abstract 216: Statistical Code Availability From Studies of Medicare Data in General Medical Journals

Background: Open science improves methodological rigor, limits duplication, and helps researchers build upon existing findings. Yet despite the importance of open science in cardiovascular outcomes research, it may be limited by difficulties in accessing statistical code after publication. We evaluated the ease of obtaining statistical code from published research in high-profile journals. Methods: We identified all studies published in 6 general medical journals that utilized Medicare Parts A and B data in 2017 and 2018: Annals of Internal Medicine, BMJ, JAMA, JAMA Internal Medicine, Lancet, and New England Journal of Medicine . We focused on studies utilizing national Medicare data given their widespread use in outcomes research. We targeted recent studies to minimize barriers to accessing code as research teams change over time. Using these criteria, we identified 51 research articles with 41 unique corresponding authors. We contacted these authors to request statistical code for their publications via email up to 3 times at 2-week intervals. When code was provided to us, we assessed its integrity and completeness. Results: Of 51 studies we identified, 3 had full or partial code already publicly available. Of the remaining 48 studies, 7 codes (corresponding to 6 authors) were sent to us, leading to a total of 10 out of 51 articles with full or partial code availability (Figure 1). Overall, we received responses from 19 of the 41 authors. Thirteen corresponding authors declined to share code for numerous reasons. Reasons given for not sharing code included researchers leaving prior positions, analysts leaving research teams, and likelihood of significant delays due to seeking permission from research sponsors. We received no responses from 22 of 41 corresponding authors (Figure 1). Conclusion: We found significant barriers to accessing statistical code after publication in research articles utilizing Medicare data in general medical journals, and we were unable to access statistical codes in over 80% of cases. The inability to obtain codes associated with scientific analyses may represent an important challenge for reproducibility in cardiovascular outcomes research.

Availability of Statistical Code From Studies Using Medicare Data in General Medical Journals

Availability of Statistical Code From Studies Using Medicare Data in General Medical Journals

Editorial: Hope for the new decade

The British Student Doctor Journal is a high quality, open access, biannual, peer-reviewed, general medical journal, which publishes articles written primarily by medical students. In addition to publishing original research and systematic reviews, we also provide a platform to medical students to express original thought and reflections on clinical practice, student life and medical education.All of our content is fully open access, available without subscription and with no authorship charges. All articles published in The British Student Doctor Journal go through a rigorous peer-review process, led by our student editorial team. The governance of the journal is overseen by our faculty advisory board, and we are published by Cardiff University Press and funded by Cardiff University School of Medicine.For more information, please visit our homepage at www.bsdj.org.uk.

Citation classics in general medical journals: assessing the quality of evidence; a systematic review.

This review provides a comprehensive overview of more than 100 of the most cited studies in general medical journals and evaluates whether citations predict the quality of a scientific article. The number of citations is commonly used as a measure of the quality and impact of a scientific article. However, it is often criticised that the number of citations is in fact a poor indicator of the true quality, as it can be influenced by different factors such as current trends. This review was conducted in line with the PRISMA guidelines. The Journal Citation Report (JCR) within Incites allowed the evaluation and comparison of articles, published in general medical journals, using far-reaching citation data drawn from scholarly and technical journals and conference proceedings. All steps of the review were performed in duplicate and conflicts were resolved through consensus. The 100 most cited articles published from 1963 until the end of 2018 were identified. The number of citations ranged from 4012 to 31853. Most of the articles were published in the 2000's, followed by the 1990's, 1980's, 1970's and 1960's, respectively. All of the articles were published in five journals. There were 50 studies at level II, 28 at level V, 10 at level IV, 7 at level III, and 5 at Level I. This systematic review provides an overview of the most cited articles, published in general medical journals. The number of citations provides an indication of the quality of evidence. However, researchers and clinicians should use standardized assessment tools rather than solely rely on the number of citations in order to judge the quality of published articles.

Supplements to increase trainee-authored publications pertaining to medical education

Medical trainees (i.e., students and residents) provide relevantly insightful perspectives pertaining to their 'medical education' at both undergraduate (i.e., medical school) and graduate (i.e., residency training) levels. Therefore, promoting related trainee-authored publications about such matters is critically important. However, unfortunately, not many medical trainees are able to voice their important education-related research findings in peer-reviewed journals. 'Journal-level' proposals to increase trainees' scientific scholarship are always warranted. Herein, medical journals are called to play an innovative pivotal role in further promoting the desired trend of trainee-authored publications. To that end, periodically throughout the year, mainstream (general or education-focused) medical journals are encouraged to facilitate supplements entirely dedicated to trainee-authored research contributions in the field of 'medical education'. The grounds, dynamics, challenges and benefits of this supplement-based approach are discussed.