By Nazlie Latefi

Many influential meta-analyses of clinical trial data may be riddled with buried conflicts of interest. According to a report published last month, even when potential conflicts are disclosed in primary studies, they are almost never included in subsequent pooled analyses. The authors of the report say that more transparency is needed in meta-analyses because clinicians and medical organizations regularly rely on such reviews to inform their decisions.

Clinical trial reporting guidelines have changed tremendously over the last decade, with strict protocols now in place for disclosing potential financial conflicts. Yet the same guidelines do not exist for meta-analyses. For example, the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions used to guide the drafting of meta-analyses does not explicitly ask authors to list financial conflicts of interest found in the primary studies used.

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