Trends in Irish Surgical Research

Introduction Participation in high quality surgical research is important for surgeons in training and those practicing as consultants. It forms a cornerstone of evidence based medicine. Randomized prospective studies are amongst the highest forms of scientifc evidence, however the perceived complicated nature of designing and conducting them can be discouraging for researchers. Pre-registration of a trial is required for publication to most international journals and has been required by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors since 2005. International registration of clinical trials has increased exponentially since then. Aims We sought to review if Irish surgical data reflected international research trends and to analyse the registration and publication of trials here amongst surgical specialities. Methods Data was extrapolated from clinicaltrials.gov for all national and international collaborative trials between 2012 and 2022. This data was cross referenced with Pubmed to examine what trials had been completed and published. Results Surgical groups registered 96 trials over this period of which 31% were international collaborations. Of the Irish trials, 71% were randomized control trial protocols and 29% observational (retrospective and prospective). General surgery represented 50% of the registered trials. There was no increased in trial activity over the past 10 years to match international trends. 31% of the trials had published their fndings at the time of the review. Conclusions This preliminary study demonstrates that we are not matching international colleagues in our involvement in randomized trials. There may be a role for increasing support to surgical researchers to encourage their involvement.