To properly interpret data that have an impact on patient care and clinical decision-making, it is important for clinical studies to be registered randomized controlled trials (RCT), according to research published in the Journal of Glaucoma. 

The researchers looked at the rates of publication bias (PB) and outcome reporting bias (ORB) in glaucoma surgery–related RCTs and found that among the minority of trials that were registered, more than a third presented ORB. PB was less likely, Michael et al from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai wrote, and unregistered trials were of lower quality.

Of the 161 trials studied, 63% were not registered, 47% had statistically significant results, new primary outcomes were adopted in 18% of the studies, and 37% showed discrepancies between objectives in cited clinical trial registries and the published results. Only 65% of the studies had appropriate randomization, and 64% did not mention patient masking, the researchers found.