Variation in descriptors of patient characteristics in randomized clinical trials of peptic ulcer repair: a systematic review

Background The ability to compare findings across surgical research is important. Inadequate description of participants, interventions or outcomes could lead to bias and inaccurate assessment of findings. The aim of this study was to assess consistency of description of participants using studies comparing laparoscopic and open repair of peptic ulcer as an example. Methods This systematic review is reported in line with the PRISMA checklist....