Abstracts of trials presented at the Vth World Congress of Psychiatry (Mexico, 1971): a cohort study

Abstract

Background. Systematic reviews should identify all relevant trials in order to minimize the potential for bias and the play of chance in their results. Other specialities have shown that conference proceedings are a rich source of trials, but many of these trials are never fully published.Methods. All clinical trials presented at a single conference (Vth World Congress of Psychiatry, Mexico, 1971) were identified by hand searching. Full publications of these abstracts were then sought on five databases by searching for the authors or relevant key words.Results. Full publications were found for 46% of the abstracts. The odds of publication decreased for abstracts that were from a non-Anglophone country or that failed to mention randomization.Conclusions. Anyone wishing to undertake a systematic review of a mental-health care topic should search relevant conference proceedings for trials.