Table 2.
Abstracts of RCTs published in top-50 journals in the ‘Medicine, General and Internal’ category during July–December 2015 - Frequency of structure formats and relevant editorial policiesa by journal (n = 370)
| No. | Journal | N of RCTs identified (%) | Structure format used (%) | Structure format required | Specific instructions for each heading | Word limit | CONSORT for Abstracts endorsement | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unstructured (n = 46) |
IMRaD (n = 215) |
HS (n = 109) |
|||||||
| 1 | New England Journal of Medicine | 73 (19.7) | 0 (0.0) | 73 (100.0) | 0 (0.0) | IMRaD | No | 250 | Not mentioned |
| 2 | The Lancet | 53 (14.3) | 0 (0.0) | 53 (100.0) | 0 (0.0) | IMRaD | Yes | 300 | Required |
| 3 | JAMA - Journal of American Medical Association | 38 (10.3) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 38 (100.0) | HS | Yes | 350 | Not mentioned |
| 4 | Annals of Internal Medicine | 7 (1.9) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 7 (100.0) | HS | No | 275 | Not mentioned |
| 5 | BMJ - British Medical Journal | 8 (2.2) | 0 (0.0) | 4 (50.0) | 4 (50.0) | HS | Yes | 400 | Required |
| 6 | PLOS Medicine | 4 (1.1) | 0 (0.0) | 4 (100.0) | 0 (0.0) | IMRaD | Yes | No limit | Not mentioned |
| 7 | JAMA Internal Medicine | 7 (1.9) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 7 (100.0) | HS | Yes | 350 | Not mentioned |
| 8 | BMC Medicine | 6 (1.6) | 0 (0.0) | 6 (100.0) | 0 (0.0) | IMRaD | Yes | 350 | Recommended |
| 9 | Journal of Cachexia Sarcopenia and Muscle | 0 (0) | – | – | – | IMRaD | No | 400 | Not mentioned |
| 10 | Mayo Clinic Proceedings | 2 (0.5) | 0 (0.0) | 2 (100.0) | 0 (0.0) | IMRaD | No | 250 | Not mentioned |
| 11 | Journal of Internal Medicine | 1 (0.3) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 1 (100.0) | IMRaD | No | 250 | Not mentioned |
| 12 | Canadian Medical Association Journal | 1 (0.3) | 0 (0.0) | 1 (100.0) | 0 (0.0) | IMRaD | Yes | 250 | Not mentioned |
| 13 | Medicine (Baltimore) | 42 (11.4) | 42 (100.0) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | Not specified | – | 350 | Not mentioned |
| 14 | Annals of Family Medicine | 4 (1.1) | 0 (0.0) | 4 (100.0) | 0 (0.0) | IMRaD | No | 250 | Not mentioned |
| 15 | Translational Research | 2 (0.5) | 2 (100.0) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | Unstructured | – | 250 | Not mentioned |
| 16 | American Journal of Medicine | 6 (1.6) | 0 (0.0) | 6 (100.0) | 0 (0.0) | IMRaD | No | 250 | Not mentioned |
| 17 | American Journal of Preventive Medicine | 11 (3.0) | 0 (0.0) | 4 (36.4) | 7 (63.6) | HS | No | 300 | Not mentioned |
| 18 | Medical Journal of Australia | 2 (0.5) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 2 (100.0) | HS | Yes | 250 | Not mentioned |
| 19 | Annals of Medicine | 0 (0) | – | – | – | IMRaD | No | 200 | Not mentioned |
| 20 | Deutsches Arzteblatt International | 5 (1.4) | 0 (0.0) | 5 (100.0) | 0 (0.0) | IMRaD | No | 200 | Not mentioned |
| 21 | Journal of General Internal Medicine | 12 (3.2) | 0 (0.0) | 4 (33.3) | 8 (66.7) | HS | No | 300 | Not mentioned |
| 22 | Preventive Medicine | 8 (2.2) | 0 (0.0) | 7 (87.5) | 1 (12.5) | Unstructured | – | 250 | Not mentioned |
| 23 | European Journal of Internal Medicine | 1 (0.3) | 0 (0.0) | 1 (100.0) | 0 (0.0) | Not specified | – | 250 | Not mentioned |
| 24 | Palliative Medicine | 0 (0) | – | – | – | HS | Yes | Not specified | Not mentioned |
| 25 | Journal of Pain and Symptom Management | 4 (1.1) | 0 (0.0) | 4 (100.0) | 0 (0.0) | IMRaD | No | 250 | Not mentioned |
| 26 | American Journal of Chinese Medicine | 0 (0) | – | – | – | Unstructured | – | 250 | Not mentioned |
| 27 | European Journal of Clinical Investigation | 1 (0.3) | 0 (0.0) | 1 (100.0) | 0 (0.0) | IMRaD | No | 250 | Not mentioned |
| 28 | Current Medical Research and Opinion | 10 (2.7) | 0 (0.0) | 8 (80.0) | 2 (20.0) | HS | Yes | 300 | Not mentioned |
| 29 | Internal and Emergency Medicine | 1 (0.3) | 1 (100.0) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | Not specified | – | 250 | Not mentioned |
| 30 | International Journal of Clinical Practice | 5 (1.4) | 1 (20.0) | 4 (80.0) | 0 (0.0) | Not specified | – | Not specified | Not mentioned |
| 31 | QJM - An International Journal of Medicine | 0 (0) | – | – | – | HS | No | 250 | Not mentioned |
| 32 | Pain Medicine | 10 (2.7) | 0 (0.0) | 5 (50.0) | 5 (50.0) | HS | No | 250 | Not mentioned |
| 33 | Journal of Hospital Medicine | 0 (0) | – | – | – | HS | No | 250 | Not mentioned |
| 34 | British Journal of General Practice | 3 (0.8) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 3 (100.0) | HS | No | 250 | Not mentioned |
| 35 | BMJ Open | 21 (5.7) | 0 (0.0) | 2 (9.5) | 19 (90.5) | HS | Yes | 300 | Recommended |
| 36 | American Journal of Managed Care | 5 (1.4) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 5 (100.0) | HS | Yes | 250 | Not mentioned |
| 37 | Polish Archives of Internal Medicine | 0 (0) | – | – | – | IMRaD | No | 250 | Not mentioned |
| 38 | Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine | 0 (0) | – | – | – | HS | No | 300 | Not mentioned |
| 39 | Swiss Medical Weekly | 0 (0) | – | – | – | IMRaD | No | 600 | Not mentioned |
| 40 | Journal of Women’s Health | 2 (0.5) | 0 (0.0) | 2 (100.0) | 0 (0.0) | IMRaD | No | 250 | Not mentioned |
| 41 | Archives of Medical Science | 3 (0.8) | 0 (0.0) | 3 (100.0) | 0 (0.0) | IMRaD | No | 250 | Not mentioned |
| 42 | AMYLOID - Journal of Protein Folding Disorders | 0 (0) | – | – | – | Not specified | – | 200 | Not mentioned |
| 43 | International Journal of Medical Sciences | 4 (1.1) | 0 (0.0) | 4 (100.0) | 0 (0.0) | Not specified | – | Not specified | Not mentioned |
| 44 | Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine | 3 (0.8) | 0 (0.0) | 3 (100.0) | 0 (0.0) | IMRaD | No | Not specified | Not mentioned |
| 45 | Upsala Journal of Medical Sciences | 0 (0) | – | – | – | IMRaD | No | 250 | Not mentioned |
| 46 | Netherlands Journal of Medicine | 0 (0) | – | – | – | IMRaD | Yes | 250 | Not mentioned |
| 47 | Journal of the Formosan Medical Association | 2 (0.5) | 0 (0.0) | 2 (100.0) | 0 (0.0) | IMRaD | Yes | 250 | Not mentioned |
| 48 | Journal of Urban Health | 0 (0) | – | – | – | Unstructured | – | Not specified | Not mentioned |
| 49 | Family Practice | 0 (0) | – | – | – | IMRaD | No | Not specified | Not mentioned |
| 50 | Postgraduate Medicine | 3 (0.8) | 0 (0.0) | 3 (100.0) | 0 (0.0) | IMRaD | No | 300 | Not mentioned |
IMRaD: introduction, methods, results, and discussion format; HS: highly structured format;
CONSORT for Abstracts: the CONSORT (Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials) extension guidelines for reporting of RCT abstracts [23]
aEditorial policies according to journals’ ‘instructions to authors’ (as of April 2016)