Background: Case-control study designs are commonly used. However, many published
case-control studies are not true case-controls and are in fact mislabeled. The purpose of …

The case series is the most prevalent type of clinical research in the plastic surgery
literature. However, this is a lower level study design in the hierarchy of evidence. The case …

Background: Selection of controls, a group of subjects who are identical to the treatment
group in all aspects that affect the outcome except the intervention of interest, is a significant …

Background: Randomized controlled trials in plastic surgery have not been analyzed
comprehensively. We analyzed plastic surgical randomized controlled trials with respect to …

Background: Evidence-based medicine, particularly randomized controlled trials, influences
many daily decisions within the medical specialties. The structure of questions asked during …

Observational studies constitute an important category of study designs. To address some
investigative questions in plastic surgery, randomized controlled trials are not always …

Background: Reproducible research—defined as the ability to replicate a study with its
published materials and procedures—is integral to ensuring the validity of published studies …

Background: The authors investigated the methodological validity of plastic surgery
randomized controlled trials that compared surgical interventions. Methods: An electronic …

Background: The authors examined industry support, conflict of interest, and sample size in
plastic surgery randomized controlled trials that compared surgical interventions. They …

The role of the randomised clinical trial (RCT) in surgical research has received much
attention in the medical literature. 2, 3 Whilst it is often regarded as the 'holy grail'of study …