and to strengthen its cultural legacy of outstanding academics, chiropractic philosophy, excellent faculty, technique and research,” said Dr. Cordero upon being named to lead the college.
Of 164 studies included in the review, 54 (32.9%) had positive results that were not based on the primary endpoint, which was not statistically different. Spin (considered a form of bias) involves use of reporting strategies that emphasize the benefits of an experimental treatment, even when the primary outcome is nonsignificant. Spin might also be used to distract readers from nonsignificant results, the authors continued. Authors of the reports “used spin in an attempt to conceal bias,” The frequency of biased reporting increased to 59% when the analysis was limited to 92 studies that produced nonsignificant differences in primary endpoints.
A 1993 graduate of Life University’s College of Chiropractic, Dr. Cordero practices in Boynton Beach, Fla. He was the Florida Chiropractic Society’s Chiropractor of the Year in 2011. In choosing Dr. Cordero, the Sherman board of trustees reviewed 20 applications, ultimately narrowing the field to three applicants in October before making their final selection.
“Bias in the reporting of efficacy and toxicity remains prevalent,” Clinicians, reviewers, journal editors, and regulators should apply a critical eye to trial reports and be wary of the possibility of biased reporting.
It is not the function of our government to keep the citizen from falling into error; it is the function of the citizen to keep the government from falling into error.
Study Shows ID Errors in Prostate Biopsies As many as 3.5% of prostate biopsy specimens were contaminated or inadvertently switched with that of another patient, according to a review of 13,000 samples from 54 laboratories. The overall error rate was less than 1%, but rates among different types of labs ranged as high as 3.51%. No laboratory included in the study had an error-free performance record.
Study Reports Reflect Researchers’ Bias A third of randomized clinical trials (RCTs) in breast cancer had published results that showed bias in the reporting of endpoints, and two-thirds showed bias in reporting toxicity, authors of a literature review concluded. Because RCTs represent the gold standard for evaluation of a new therapy’s efficacy and toxicity, appropriate trial design and objective reporting of results are essential. Bias in reporting can create false impressions about a therapy’s safety and efficacy, and clinical decisions may be influenced by the reports.
Texas Journal of Chiropractic
“The fact remains that … a diagnosis was assigned to the wrong patient with no knowledge or even suspicion of the error that had occurred.”
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