Around 35 per cent of research studies that investigate the safety and effectiveness of drugs and surgery are not properly reporting on side effects and adverse reactions.
Eight per cent of those studies aren’t even set up to capture side effects in the first place, and a further 27 per cent do so only partially, a review of 187 research papers has discovered.
In other words, just 65 per cent of trials recognise the possibility of side effects and include them in their reviews, researchers from the University of York discovered.
They say they can’t understand why this important element of healthcare is not being properly reported but suggest that far stricter guidelines need to be drawn up before a research project even gets started.
(Source: Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, 2019; 95: doi: 10.1016/jclinepi.2018.12.007)
What do you think? Start a conversation over on the... WDDTY Community
