Publication and Level of Evidence Trends in The American Journal of Sports Medicine From 1996 to 2011
There has been recent increased emphasis on the publication quality and levels of evidence in orthopaedic and sports medicine research. Starting in 2003, The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (American volume) (JBJS-A) published a level of evidence (LOE) rating for all clinical articles based on the Oxford Centre for Evidence-based Medicine classification. The rating system involves assigning a level of evidence (from 1 to 5 ) as well as classifying the article as diagnostic, therapeutic, prognostic, or economic. The American Journal of Sports Medicine (AJSM) began publishing levels of evidence in the abstracts of its clinical articles in 2005, along with classifications of study design. Interobserver agreement in assigning levels of evidence to orthopaedic clinical research is high.
The purpose of this study by Dr. Verma and his team was to analyze the trends in the characteristics and levels of evidence of articles published in AJSM.
Full Article: Publication and Level of Evidence Trends in The American Journal of Sports Medicine From 1996 to 2011
