Shortcut citations in the methods section: Frequency, problems, and strategies for responsible reuse.

Methods sections are often missing essential details. Methodological shortcut citations, in which authors cite previous papers instead of describing the method in detail, may contribute to this problem. This meta-research study used 3 approaches to examine shortcut citation use in neuroscience, biology, and psychiatry. First, we assessed current practices in more than 750 papers. More than 90% of papers used shortcut citations. Other common reasons for using citations in the methods included giving credit or specifying what was used (who or what citation) and providing context or a justification (why citation). Next, we reviewed 15 papers to determine what can happen when readers follow shortcut citations to find methodological details. While shortcut citations can be used effectively, they can also deprive readers of essential methodological details. Problems encountered included difficulty identifying or accessing the cited materials, missing or insufficient descriptions of the cited method, and shortcut citation chains. Third, we examined journal policies. Fewer than one quarter of journals had policies describing how authors should report previously described methods. We propose that methodological shortcut citations should meet 3 criteria; cited resources should provide (1) a detailed description of (2) the method used by the citing authors', and (3) be open access. Resources that do not meet these criteria should be cited to give credit, but not as shortcut citations. We outline actions that authors and journals can take to use shortcut citations responsibly, while fostering a culture of open and reproducible methods reporting.

A preoperative single dose of methadone for moderate-to-severely painful surgery reduces postoperative morphine consumption.

BACKGROUND: Data from patient questionnaires reveal that the intensity of postoperative pain is widely underestimated. Insufficient pain control may contribute to impaired short- and long-term outcome. Preoperative administration of methadone might potentially improve postoperative pain control due to its long pharmacological half-life. METHODS: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of a single dose of methadone administered at anesthesia induction on postoperative analgesic requirements in ASA I-III patients after moderate-to-severely painful surgery scheduled for ≥90 minutes. Patients were randomized to receive either a single dose of methadone (0.2 mg/kg) or fentanyl (standard, 0.003 mg/kg) intravenously (IV) at anesthesia induction. For postoperative pain control, all study patients were accommodated with morphine on the basis of patient-controlled analgesia (PCA). RESULTS: Per-protocol analysis revealed that the median cumulative morphine consumption was significantly lower in patients receiving a single dose of methadone, in the Postanesthesia Care Unit (0 mg vs. 7 mg of morphine, P<0.01) and during the first 72 hours after surgery (19 mg vs. 35 mg of morphine, P<0.05 for all days). Fentanyl consumption during surgery (0.25 mg [0.1-0.425 mg] in the study group vs. 0.3 mg [0.15-0.45 mg] in the control group, P=0.4499) was comparable among groups. Median pain scores at rest and in motion, and patient satisfaction were also similar in both groups (95.7% vs. 89.3% of patients were satisfied in the study and control group, respectively) during follow-up on postoperative days 1-3. CONCLUSIONS: A single dose of methadone administered at anesthesia induction prior to moderate-to-severely painful surgery is a possible strategy to reduce postoperative morphine consumption.

Association of social deprivation with 1-year outcome of ICU survivors: results from the FROG-ICU study.

PURPOSE: Intensive care unit survivors suffer from prolonged impairment, reduced quality of life, and higher mortality rates after discharge compared to the general population. Socioeconomic status may play a partial but important role in mortality and recovery. Therefore, the detection of factors that are responsible for poor long-term outcomes would be beneficial in designing targeted interventions for at-risk populations. METHODS: For an endpoint analysis, 1834 intensive care unit patients with known French Deprivation Index (FDep) scores were included from the French and euRopean Outcome reGistry in Intensive Care Units (FROG-ICU) study, which was a prospective, observational, multicenter cohort study performed in 20 French intensive care units in 13 different hospitals. Socioeconomic status was defined by using the FDep score [represented as quintiles when referring to the general French population, as quintiles when referring to the FROG-ICU cohort, or as dichotomized data (which was defined as a FDep ≤ 0 for nondeprived patients)] and by using a detailed social questionnaire that was completed 3 months after discharge. The primary outcome included an all-cause, 1-year mortality after ICU discharge when regarding socioeconomic status. The secondary outcomes included both ICU and hospital lengths of stay, both short- and medium-term mortality, and the quality of life, as assessed during the 1-year follow-up by using the Medical Outcome Survey Short Form-36 (SF-36). The Revised Impact of Event Scale (IES-R) was used to evaluate the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) was used to screen for anxiety and depression. RESULTS: Of the 1447 patients who were discharged alive from the ICU, 19.2% died over the following year. No association was found between 1-year mortality and socioeconomic status, regardless of whether this association was analyzed in quintiles (p = 0.911 in the quintiles of the general French population; p = 0.589 in the quintiles of the FROG-ICU cohort itself) or as dichotomized data [nondeprived (n = 177; 1-year mortality of 18.2%) versus deprived (n = 97; 1-year mortality of 20.5%; p = 0.304)]. Moreover, no differences were found between the nondeprived and the deprived patients in the ICU and hospital lengths of stay, ICU mortalities, in-hospital mortalities, or 28-day mortalities. The SF-36 was below the score for the normal French population throughout the follow-up period. Socially deprived patients showed significantly lower median scores in the physical function subscale [55, interquartile range (IQR) (28.8-80) vs. 65, IQR (35-90); p = 0.014], the physical role subscale [25, IQR (0-75) vs. 33.3, IQR (0-100); p = 0.022], and the overall physical component scale [47.5, IQR (30-68.8) vs. 54.4, IQR (35-78.8); p = 0.010]. Up to 31.6% of survivors presented symptoms that indicated post-traumatic stress disorder, and up to 31.5% of survivors reported clinically meaningful symptoms of anxiety or depression. CONCLUSIONS: A lower socioeconomic status was associated with lower self-reported physical component scores in the nondeprived patients. Psychiatric symptoms are frequently reported after an ICU stay, and subsequent interventions should target those fields. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01367093; registered on June 6, 2011.