Kaele M Leonard,Timothy A Khalil,Jacob Welch,Greta Dahlberg,Ankush Ratwani,Jennifer D Duke,Rafael Paez,Elisa J Gordon,Samira Shojaee,Robert J Lentz,Fabien Maldonado
{"title":"Conflicts of Interest in Bronchoscopy Research - Is Self-Reporting Sufficient?","authors":"Kaele M Leonard,Timothy A Khalil,Jacob Welch,Greta Dahlberg,Ankush Ratwani,Jennifer D Duke,Rafael Paez,Elisa J Gordon,Samira Shojaee,Robert J Lentz,Fabien Maldonado","doi":"10.1016/j.chest.2024.10.006","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"BACKGROUND\r\nRobotic assisted bronchoscopy has been enthusiastically adopted in the U.S. and transformed the management of patients with indeterminate pulmonary nodules. Unprecedented industry investments in research, development, and marketing have profoundly affected the bronchoscopy landscape, leading to concerns that conflicts of interest could influence the validity of bronchoscopy studies. Disclosures of conflicts of interest in research are predicated on open and transparent self-reporting.\r\n\r\nRESEARCH QUESTION\r\nAre self-reported relevant conflicts of interest in articles pertaining to robotic assisted bronchoscopy accurate when compared to publicly available payments on the Centers of Medicare & Medicaid Services' Open Payments Database?\r\n\r\nSTUDY DESIGN AND METHODS\r\nAll articles pertaining to robotic assisted bronchoscopy indexed on PubMed between 2016 and 2022 were screened for relevance. Articles appearing in the five journals with the most relevant publications were selected. General, research, and associated research payments reported in the Open Payments Database were recorded for each US physician-author with available data. \"Relevant payments\" refer to transactions made to authors by bronchoscopy-related companies. Documentation of all payments involving these companies during the three years prior to an article's submission date was obtained. These payments were compared to the self-reported conflicts of interest for each author, per article, and the number and value of payments were categorized and totaled.\r\n\r\nRESULTS\r\nTwenty-seven articles were included, accounting for 75 U.S. physicians with data reported in the Open Payments Database. Of the $17 million in relevant payments reported, $9.9 million were not disclosed (57%). Sixty-eight of 75 (91%) of authors had incomplete physician disclosures. Excluding food and beverage payments, sixty authors had incomplete disclosures (80%).\r\n\r\nINTERPRETATION\r\nRelevant conflicts of interest appear to be inconsistently disclosed in publications on robotic assisted bronchoscopy, suggesting self-reporting may be an insufficient strategy. A centralized disclosure process that is automated or easier to use should be considered.","PeriodicalId":9782,"journal":{"name":"Chest","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":9.5000,"publicationDate":"2024-10-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Chest","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chest.2024.10.006","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"CRITICAL CARE MEDICINE","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Robotic assisted bronchoscopy has been enthusiastically adopted in the U.S. and transformed the management of patients with indeterminate pulmonary nodules. Unprecedented industry investments in research, development, and marketing have profoundly affected the bronchoscopy landscape, leading to concerns that conflicts of interest could influence the validity of bronchoscopy studies. Disclosures of conflicts of interest in research are predicated on open and transparent self-reporting.
RESEARCH QUESTION
Are self-reported relevant conflicts of interest in articles pertaining to robotic assisted bronchoscopy accurate when compared to publicly available payments on the Centers of Medicare & Medicaid Services' Open Payments Database?
STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS
All articles pertaining to robotic assisted bronchoscopy indexed on PubMed between 2016 and 2022 were screened for relevance. Articles appearing in the five journals with the most relevant publications were selected. General, research, and associated research payments reported in the Open Payments Database were recorded for each US physician-author with available data. "Relevant payments" refer to transactions made to authors by bronchoscopy-related companies. Documentation of all payments involving these companies during the three years prior to an article's submission date was obtained. These payments were compared to the self-reported conflicts of interest for each author, per article, and the number and value of payments were categorized and totaled.
RESULTS
Twenty-seven articles were included, accounting for 75 U.S. physicians with data reported in the Open Payments Database. Of the $17 million in relevant payments reported, $9.9 million were not disclosed (57%). Sixty-eight of 75 (91%) of authors had incomplete physician disclosures. Excluding food and beverage payments, sixty authors had incomplete disclosures (80%).
INTERPRETATION
Relevant conflicts of interest appear to be inconsistently disclosed in publications on robotic assisted bronchoscopy, suggesting self-reporting may be an insufficient strategy. A centralized disclosure process that is automated or easier to use should be considered.
期刊介绍:
At CHEST, our mission is to revolutionize patient care through the collaboration of multidisciplinary clinicians in the fields of pulmonary, critical care, and sleep medicine. We achieve this by publishing cutting-edge clinical research that addresses current challenges and brings forth future advancements. To enhance understanding in a rapidly evolving field, CHEST also features review articles, commentaries, and facilitates discussions on emerging controversies. We place great emphasis on scientific rigor, employing a rigorous peer review process, and ensuring all accepted content is published online within two weeks.