The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (American). 2009;91:425-428.
doi:10.2106/JBJS.H.00108
© 2009 The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, Inc.
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow CME: Take the activity for this article:
 CME 1: January, February, March 2009 (publication date April 3, 2009; expir...
Right arrow Letters to the Editor: Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when Letters to the Editor are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow E-mail this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My File Cabinet
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Rights and Permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Hanzlik, S.
Right arrow Articles by Khiabani, K. T.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow Articles by Hanzlik, S.
Right arrow Articles by Khiabani, K. T.
Related Collections
Right arrow Adult Trauma
Right arrow Basic Science
Right arrow Spine
Right arrow Adult Hip
Right arrow Adult Knee
Right arrow Foot/Ankle
Right arrow Shoulder
Right arrow Elbow
Right arrow Hand/Wrist
Right arrow Sports
Right arrow Pediatrics
Right arrow Oncology
Right arrow Rehabilitation
Right arrow Education and Training
Right arrow Pain Management
Right arrow Ethics
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Facebook   Add to Technorati   Add to Twitter  
What's this?

Levels of Evidence in Research Published in The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (American Volume) Over the Last Thirty Years

Shane Hanzlik, MS1, Raman C. Mahabir, MSc, MD, FRCSC2, Richard C. Baynosa, MD1 and Kayvan T. Khiabani, MD, MSc, FRCSC1

1 University of Nevada School of Medicine, 2040 West Charleston Boulevard, Suite 301, Las Vegas, NV 89102
2 Division of Plastic Surgery, Scott and White Memorial Hospital, 2401 South 31st Street, Temple, TX 76508. E-mail address: rmahabir{at}swmail.sw.org

Investigation performed at the Division of Plastic Surgery, University of Nevada School of Medicine, Las Vegas, Nevada

Disclosure: The authors did not receive any outside funding or grants in support of their research for or preparation of this work. Neither they nor a member of their immediate families received payments or other benefits or a commitment or agreement to provide such benefits from a commercial entity. No commercial entity paid or directed, or agreed to pay or direct, any benefits to any research fund, foundation, division, center, clinical practice, or other charitable or nonprofit organization with which the authors, or a member of their immediate families, are affiliated or associated.

Background: The recent emphasis on evidence-based medicine has led to increasing levels of evidence being published in surgical journals. The purpose of the present study was to review the levels of evidence in reports published in The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (American Volume) over the last thirty years.

Methods: We reviewed all of the articles published in The Journal in the years 1975, 1985, 1995, and 2005. Cadaver studies, animal studies, basic-science studies, review articles, Instructional Course Lectures, and correspondence were excluded. Articles were scored according to The Journal's levels of evidence for a primary research question.

Results: A total of 1058 articles were reviewed. Of these, 134, 123, 120, and 174 articles met the inclusion criteria for the years 1975, 1985, 1995, and 2005, respectively, and were ranked according to level of evidence. The number of articles for each level of evidence rating was then expressed as a percentage of the total number of articles meeting the inclusion criteria for that year. There was a significant trend toward higher levels of evidence, with the combined percentage of Level-I, II, and III studies increasing from 17% to 52% (p < 0.01). The percentage of Level-I studies increased from 4% in 1975 to 21% in 2005. The average level of evidence rating improved from 3.72 to 2.90 during the study period.

Conclusions: The level of evidence in The Journal has improved significantly over the last thirty years.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Facebook Facebook   Add to Technorati Technorati   Add to Twitter Twitter    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 JBJSHome page
J. D. Heckman
Further Emphasis on Evidence
J. Bone Joint Surg. Am., July 1, 2009; 91(7): 1557 - 1557.
[Full Text] [PDF]