Influence of Industry in Hydrocephalus and Vertebral Augmentation Literature.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate whether financial bias exists in hydrocephalus and vertebral augmentation literature.

METHODS

A systematic literature search was performed in PubMed of studies concerning vertebral augmentation and cerebrospinal fluid valves. The relationship between reported conflicts of interest and the nature of the conclusion (positive vs. neutral and negative) was analyzed.

RESULTS

Having a conflict of interest was significantly associated with reporting a positive conclusion in studies investigating valves for hydrocephalus (92.3% positive conclusion vs. 36.4%; P = 0.001), but not for cement augmentation studies (80.5% positive conclusion vs. 65.7%; P = 0.087). As studies concerning vertebral augmentation implants had only positive conclusions, no analysis could be performed.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings suggest a positive relationship between reported conflict of interest and positive outcome in neurosurgical literature concerning cerebrospinal fluid valves.