Disclosure of conflict of interest

Industry payments to authors of Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery shoulder arthroplasty manuscripts are accurately disclosed by most authors and are not significantly associated with better reported treatment outcomes

BACKGROUND

Author transparency in disclosing potential conflicts of interest when reporting outcomes for shoulder arthroplasty implants is important. Using the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Open Payments Program (OPP) database, we analyzed articles in the Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery to evaluate (1) discrepancies between the stated conflicts of interest and associated payments recorded in the database, (2) the magnitude and types of payments received, and (3) possible relationships between industry financial support and positive study outcomes.

METHODS

Articles reporting clinical outcomes of shoulder arthroplasty from 2016 and 2017 were reviewed. Articles identifying a specific shoulder arthroplasty implant and having at least 1 author based in the United States were included. Payment types, amounts, and sources were extracted from disclosure statements in the manuscript and considered relevant if they were received from the implant manufacturer. Published disclosure statements were compared against the OPP database. Study outcomes demonstrating a clinical benefit were considered "positive." Payments to authors reporting positive outcomes were compared with those reporting nonpositive outcomes.

RESULTS

Implant manufacturers provided $16,051,261 to authors of shoulder arthroplasty publications over a 2-year period. Approximately half of senior authors (46%) received royalty payments, more than 90% of which ($14,910,873; 93%) were reported in disclosure statements. Although authors of articles with positive outcomes received greater payments than those reporting nonpositive outcomes, these differences were not statistically significant.

CONCLUSION

The majority of author disclosure statements accurately reflected the OPP data. Payments were not significantly associated with positive outcomes reported for the specific implant.

Editorial Commentary: Editor's Conflict of Interest

The Editor-in-chief has recused himself from industry consulting, which he performed before assuming the position, and returned related royalties and divested related stock options, in order to mitigate against conflict-of-interest. The Editor discloses affiliation with an institution that receives support from diverse industry partners in support of research and education.