Can We Trust Studies Published by Authors With Financial Conflicts? Using the Decline of Metal-on-Metal Total Hip Arthroplasty to Investigate

The objective of our study was to determine if authors with conflicts of interest are less likely to report negative study outcomes in metal-on-metal total hip arthroplasty. We performed a systematic review of 3 major orthopedic journals for articles related to metal-on-metal total hip arthroplasty over 12 years. A total of 64 studies reported clinical outcomes and were included. Reviewers assigned a positive, neutral, or negative label. Each study was noted for the presence of absence of a financial conflict. There was a significant trend from positive to negative study outcomes over time (P = .015). A similar negative trend was seen in studies written by authors with financial disclosures (P = .021). Authors with financial conflicts have contributed to the increase in negative outcomes reported in the literature.