Abstract:

Background: Bias might occur due to the clinical research study structures, endogenous bias, and to the investigators’ intention, external bias, on selecting only the positive outcomes and published them. So the publication bias still widespread in TCM clinical, but TCM are not unique cases, therefore study conclusions ought to be interpreted with caution.

Objective: to review the article ‘’Prospective registration, bias risk and outcome-reporting bias in randomized clinical trials of traditional Chinese medicine: an empirical methodological’’ regarding the contents, strengths, structures and limitations of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Clinical trials. In addition to outcome-reporting bias in randomized clinical trials.

Results: The number of Chinese randomized trials registration increases from 1999 to 2012, as well as the countries where these Chinese trials registered. As well as the frequency of the type of TCM intervention included in each registry. Classification of disease based on the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) has been used to classify medical conditions. Only (46.1%)= 505 out of 1096 registered randomized trials were completed studies. Only has found 29% of registered TCM trials presented selective outcome-reporting bias in between the outcomes registered and the outcomes published.

Conclusions: The quality of TCM clinical trials have developed through prospective international trial registration compared with previous methodological studies. Although there are some inconsistencies between the registered trial protocols and subsequent publications and inadequate reporting .Nevertheless it is indistinct how the study designs have got better-quality.

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