Outcome Reporting Bias: A Pervasive Problem in Published Meta-analyses
In the past 10 years that I have served as a statistical editor for AJKD, the number of systematic reviews and meta-analyses published has grown from 2 in 2007 to 18 in 2016. Both the quantity and quality of those submitted to the journal have increased and the number of substantial revisions required to align them with best practices as laid out in PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses)1 or the Cochrane Handbook2 has decreased. However, one deficiency that continues to regularly occur is outcome reporting bias, a close cousin of publication bias.