What is the methodological quality of articles on therapeutic procedures published in Cirugía Española?

Introduction. The aim of this study was to determine the methodological quality of articles on therapeutic procedures published in CIRUGÍA ESPAÑOLA and to study its association with the publication year, center, and subject-matter. Material and method. A bibliometric study that included all articles on therapeutic procedures published in CIRUGÍA ESPAÑOLA between 2001 and 2004 was performed. All kinds of clinical designs were considered, excluding editorials, review articles, letters to editor, and experimental studies. The variables analyzed were: year of publication, center, design, and methodological quality. Methodological quality was determined by a valid and reliable scale. Descriptive statistics (calculation of means, standard deviation and medians) and analytical statistics (Pearson's χ2, nonparametric, ANOVA and Bonferroni tests) were used. Results. A total of 244 articles were studied (197 case series [81%], 28 cohort studies [12%], 17 clinical trials [7%], 1 cross sectional study and 1 case-control study [0.8%]). The studies were performed mainly in Catalonia and Murcia (22% and 16%, respectively). The most frequent subject areas were soft tissue and hepatobiliopancreatic surgery (23% and 19%, respectively). The mean and median of the methodological quality score calculated for the entire series was 10.2 ± 3.9 points and 9.5 points, respectively. Methodological quality significantly increased by publication year ( p < 0.001). An association between methodological quality and subject area was observed but no association was detected with the center performing the study. Conclusions.The methodological quality of articles on therapeutic procedures published in CIRUGÍA ESPAÑOLA between 2001 and 2004 is low. However, a statistically significant trend toward improvement was observed.