Their findings are now published in The Lancet Online First.
Joshua Feinberg, surgeon, researcher and member of the IDEAL Collaboration at Maimonides Medical Center, Brooklyn, New York explained: 'The quality of clinical research in surgery has long attracted criticism. High-quality randomised trials have proved difficult to undertake in surgery, and many surgical treatments have therefore been adopted without adequate supporting evidence of efficacy and safety. To address this, we conducted a review of the progress of methodology in clinical studies of surgery, and whether it is moving towards compliance with the IDEAL Recommendations.'
Find out more (Nuffield Department of Surgical Sciences website)