Analysing the level of evidence of publications in the journal Radiología

Introduction

Scientific journals are a fundamental tool for the dissemination of evidence-based medicine. The scientific quality of a journal is related to the level of evidence of its publications. The aim of our study is to analyse and quantify changes in the levels of evidence assigned to articles published in the Radiología journal over the last six years.

Material and methods

We evaluated articles published in Radiología from 2018 to 2023. A critical reading of the selected articles was carried out and a level of evidence was assigned using two scales that are specific to the field of radiology (Insights into Imaging and the 2011 Oxford Center Evidence Based Medicine). Pearson residuals were used to establish differences in the level of evidence over the years, with a p-value < 0.05 being considered statistically significant. The level of agreement between the two scales for assessing levels of evidence was also compared using the Kappa coefficient.

Results

Of the total 404 publications in Radiología from 2018 to 2023, 275 articles were included for analysis. There was evidence of a progressive increase in the level of evidence for the publications, with a peak in 2023, consistently on both scales (p = 0.043). A Kappa coefficient of 0.92 was obtained in the analysis of agreement between scales (almost perfect agreement).

Conclusion

The level of evidence for publications in the Radiología journal has significantly increased in 2023.