Photo Credit: Jovanmandic

The trustworthiness and usefulness of preeclampsia clinical trials have improved over time, but efforts are needed to continue enhancing data transparency, according to a review published in Pregnancy Hypertension. Researchers examined 202 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on preeclampsia published between 1987 and 2021 to evaluate trustworthiness, biases, P-value reporting, transparency, and usefulness. The median number of study authors increased from 4 in 1987 to 12 in 2021, and trial registration rose from 17 of 93 RCTs in 1987-2010 to 79 of 109 in 2011-2021. After mandatory trial registration in 2010, nonsignificant P-values in abstracts rose (214/338 significant vs 124/338 nonsignificant), and reported effect sizes increased by 58% (659 in 1987-2010 to 1,038 in 2011-2021). Transparency and usefulness scores improved over time, with medians increasing from 6 (1987-1991) to 9 (2017-2021) out of 13. However, only 21% of trials (43 of 202) had adequate registration, and most exhibited risks of reporting (82%), performance (65%), and detection (70%) biases.