Adverse event methods were heterogeneous and insufficiently reported in randomized trials on persistent depressive disorder

OBJECTIVE: To investigate adverse event (AE) reporting practices in a systematic review of randomized controlled trials for persistent depressive disorder (PDD).

STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING: A systematic electronic database search was conducted up to October 2014 to identify randomized controlled trials investigating pharmacologic, psychotherapeutic, and combined treatments for PDD in adults. We calculated the number and percentage of studies that reported predefined AE information. All calculations were carried out including all studies and stratified for study type (pharmacologic, psychotherapeutic, mixed) and publication year (before and after the publication of the CONSORT extension for harms in 2004), respectively.

RESULTS: Sixty studies, reported in 126 publications, were included. Across all studies, reporting of AE information was insufficient. Substantial differences between studies that investigated different treatments emerged. Most pharmacologic studies (39/42) and mixed studies (7/9) reported any AE information, although the amount of information varied and the reported methods to assess and analyze AEs were heterogeneous. We found no substantial change in reporting practices after the publication of the CONSORT extension. Psychotherapeutic studies, although almost entirely published after the CONSORT extension, largely neglected reporting of any AE information (1/9).

CONCLUSIONS: There is a strong need to improve the current practice of assessing, analyzing, and reporting AEs, especially for psychotherapeutic studies.