In the present era of evidence-based medicine, the authenticity of published material is of
paramount importance. However, conflict of interest, intentional or unintentional, may be a
source of risk for the readers in the accurate judgment of the clinical utility of a published
trial. What is conflict of interest? A working definition of conflict of interest with regard to
publishing research results, as suggested by Rumsay, 1 is that 'conflict of interest is a
situation in which personal benefit or economic gain (either directly or indirectly via an …

CAN J ANESTH 55: 5 www. cja-jca. org May, 2008 findings, both in medical trials and
surgical interventions. 10 In fairness to the pharmaceuticals, some placebo-controlled trials
are required for regulatory approval–recognizing that these trials are more likely to generate
“positive” findings. Further, the operational quality of multicentre trials sponsored by
pharmaceuticals often equals, or exceeds, those funded by other sources. A second type of
bias which tends to be more subtle, and may be difficult to detect, is outcome reporting bias …