The Journal of bone and joint surgery. American volume
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J Bone Joint Surg Am · Nov 2011
Review Meta Analysis Comparative StudyPoor citation of prior evidence in hip fracture trials.
Failure to cite prior evidence in the medical literature may result in publication redundancy and inefficient use of research funding. We evaluated trials in which internal fixation was compared with arthroplasty for the treatment of hip fractures in order to determine the extent to which these randomized trials cited all relevant previous trials. ⋯ Our review of studies of hip fracture treatment suggests poor citation of the previous literature. Studies in higher-impact journals with positive results are more likely to be cited in subsequent studies. Therefore, redundancy in publication and unnecessary surgical trials often occur.