Pro-Con Perspectives on Ethics in Surgical Research: Update from the 39th Annual Surgical Infection Society Meeting

Analysis of Conflicts of Interest in Studies Related to Robotics in Gastrointestinal and Abdominal Wall Surgery

BACKGROUND

Industry payments to physicians represent a potential conflict of interest (COI) and can influence the study conclusions. This study aimed to evaluate the accuracy of the COIs reported in major surgical journals.

STUDY DESIGN

Studies with at least one American author published between 2016 and 2021 that discussed observational and intervention studies assessing robotic surgery were included in the analysis. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' Open Payments database was used to collect the industry payments. A COI is defined as receiving funding from a robotics company while publishing research directly related to the company's products. A COI statement was defined as disclosed (or accurate) if the disclosure statement for the study in question acknowledged funding from the robotics companies. A COI was defined as undisclosed (or inaccurate) if the disclosure statement for the study in question did not acknowledge funding from the robotics companies.

RESULTS

A total of 314 studies and 1978 authors were analyzed. Only 13.6% of the studies had accurate COI statements, whereas the majority (86.4%) had inaccurate COI disclosures. Additionally, 48.9% of the authors who received funding of $10,000 to $100,000 failed to report this amount in their disclosures, and 18% of the authors who received funding of $100,000 or more did not report it in their disclosures.

CONCLUSIONS

There was a significant discordance between the self-reported COI in gastrointestinal and abdominal wall surgeries. This study calls for continued efforts to improve the definitions of what constitutes a relevant COI and encourages a standardized reporting process. It is imperative for investigators to make accurate disclosure statements.

The undisclosed disclosures: Conflicts of interest in studies related to robotics in hepatobiliary and pancreatic surgery

BACKGROUND

The use of robotics in hepatobiliary and pancreatic surgery has increased. With this increased collaboration, there has also been a push toward improving the transparency of conflicts of interest in terms of funding provided by robotics companies.

METHODS

Studies with ≥1 American author published between 2016 and 2020 discussing robotic hepatobiliary and pancreatic surgery were included in the analysis. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Open Payments Program was used to evaluate the accuracy of industry payment disclosures. Conflict of interest was defined as a lack of disclosure of ≥$100 funding from any robotics company in the United States. The primary outcome of this study was to determine the efficacy of the current standard conflict of interest reporting in surgery.

RESULTS

A total of 355 studies (2,413 authors) were included. Of the studies that received robotics funding (n = 133), 20.3% did not disclose their conflicts of interest, whereas 79.7% had a conflict of interest disclosure. However, most of the disclosures (76.5%) were inaccurate.

CONCLUSION

The findings of this study require an update in journal policies to ensure the accurate disclosure of conflicts of interest in robotic hepatobiliary and pancreatic surgery studies. Similarly, the investigators should ensure that their disclosures are accurate. Finally, surgeons must be more on top of their relationships with these companies and consider their vulnerability to bias.