Review and analysis of history and utilization of pneumatic retinopexy after pneumatic retinopexy versus vitrectomy for the management of primary rhegmatogenous retinal detachment outcomes randomized trial (PIVOT).

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: We describe the history and series results of pneumatic retinopexy (PnR)and provide an analysis of PnR utilization after publication of results of pneumatic retinopexy versus vitrectomy for the management of primary rhegmatogenous retinal detachment outcomes randomized trial (PIVOT). RECENT FINDINGS: No significant trends were found for average number of services ( P  = 0.153) of PnR after the publication of PIVOT results. SUMMARY: PnR is a rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD) repair technique that was first described in the early 1900 s and has evolved over time to become a modern-day, minimally invasive, underutilized treatment option. Other repair techniques for RRD include scleral buckling and pars plana vitrectomy (PPV), which has been compared to the use of PnR in PIVOT. Results of PIVOT concluded that PnR offered superior visual acuity and noninferiority. PnR is underutilized in the United States even after publication of results of PIVOT deemed it a noninferior treatment. Lack of a significant increase in national utilization of PnR could be associated with multifactorial clinician, systems, and financial reasons in the real-world setting.

Do published trial results influence physician prescribing patterns? Intravitreal antivascular endothelial growth factor usage by the United States Ophthalmologists before and after Protocol T study.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Clinical trial publications may influence physician prescribing patterns. The Diabetic Retinopathy Clinical Research Network (DRCR.net) Protocol T study, published in 2015, examined outcomes of intravitreal antivascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) medications for treatment of diabetic macular oedema (DME). This study investigates if the Protocol T 1-year results were associated with changes in prescribing patterns. RECENT FINDINGS: Anti-VEGF agents have revolutionized treatment of DME by blocking angiogenesis signalled by VEGF. Three commonly used anti-VEGF agents are on-label aflibercept (Eylea, Regeneron) and ranibizumab (Lucentis, Genentech) and off-label bevacizumab (Avastin, Genentech). SUMMARY: From 2013 to 2018, there was a significant positive trend in the average number of aflibercept injections for any indication ( P  < 0.002). There was no significant trend in the average number of bevacizumab ( P  = 0.09) and ranibizumab ( P  = 0.43) for any indication. The mean proportion of aflibercept injections per provider per year was 0.181, 0.217, 0.311, 0.403, 0.419 and 0.427; each year-by-year comparison was significant (all P  < 0.001), and the largest increase was in 2015, the year of publication of Protocol T 1-year results. These results imply and reinforce that clinical trial publications may have significant effects on ophthalmologist prescribing patterns.

Correlation Between Altmetric Scores and Citation Count in 4 High-Impact Plastic Surgery Journals.

BACKGROUND: The Altmetric Attention Score (AAS) aims to determine the impact of research articles throughout the internet and social media outlets. The AAS is a weighted average of the interaction on platforms including Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, and more. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between the AAS and traditional bibliometrics across plastic surgery journals. METHODS: Articles, number of citations (NOC), and H-index information in Annals of Plastic Surgery (APS), Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (PRS), Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Global Open (PRS GO), and Aesthetic Surgery Journal (ASJ) from 2017, 2018, and 2019 were queried with the Scopus Online Tool. AAS metrics were collected with the Altmetric Score Calculator Bookmarklet. Descriptive statistics, Spearman rank-correlation analyses, and analyses of variance were performed to measure associations between NOC and AAS. RESULTS: A total of 3612 articles were analyzed. NOC was weakly correlated with AAS in APS, PRS GO, and ASJ, and moderately correlated with AAS in PRS. NOC was weakly correlated with Twitter mentions in APS, PRS GO, and ASJ, and moderately correlated in PRS. NOC was weakly correlated with news outlet reporting. The H-index of the first author showed more significant correlations with the AAS than the H-index of the last author. CONCLUSIONS: NOC and H-index of the first author correlated with AAS in the plastic surgery literature, suggesting AAS may be a useful adjunct to traditional bibliometrics when evaluating the impact and reach of peer-reviewed articles.

Assessing the quality and readability of online content on shock wave therapy for erectile dysfunction.

Patients are becoming increasingly reliant on online platforms for obtaining health information. Previous research has shown that the quality of information available on the internet regarding novel medical therapies is generally poor and frequently misleading. Shock wave therapy represents a novel restorative therapy for erectile dysfunction (ED) that has recently gained attention. We hypothesised that online sources regarding shock wave therapy for ED would be fraught with misleading claims and unreliable health information. Our objective was to evaluate the quality and readability of online medical information on shock wave therapy as a treatment for ED. Websites were generated using a Google search of 'shock wave therapy for erectile dysfunction' with location filters disabled. Readability was analysed using the Readable software (Readable.com, Horsham, United Kingdom). Quality was assessed independently by three reviewers using the DISCERN tool. Articles were subdivided into those from private clinic websites and those from universities or news media websites. Statistical analysis was conducted using the Student's t test. Nine articles that resulted from the Google search had mean readability scores as follows: Flesch-Kincaid grade level (10.8), Gunning-Fog Index (13.67), Coleman-Liau Index (12.74), Simple Measure of Gobbledygook (SMOG) Index (13.33), FORCAST Grade Level (11.33), and Automated Readability Index (11.08). The mean Flesch Reading Ease score was 46.4. The articles had a mean DISCERN score of 3.1, suggesting 'moderate quality' content. Articles from universities (n = 2) or news sources (n = 3) had significantly higher DISCERN scores than articles from private medical practices (n = 4). There was no difference in readability scores between the groups. Articles from private clinics are just as readable as those from universities or news media, but they are significantly more biased and misleading. The current online material relating to shock wave therapy for ED may not adequately inform patients in their medical decisions making, thereby necessitating closer collaboration between the sources disseminating information and urologists.

TRENDS IN INTRAVITREAL CORTICOSTEROID AGENT USE BY US OPHTHALMOLOGISTS IN MEDICARE BENEFICIARIES AND ASSOCIATION WITH PHYSICIAN-INDUSTRY INTERACTIONS.

PURPOSE: To report trends of intravitreal corticosteroid use and explore the relationship between career experience, reported industry payments, and prescribing habits. METHODS: A retrospective review of ophthalmologists who administered intravitreal dexamethasone implants (DEX) and triamcinolone acetonide (TA) injections between August 2013 and December 2017. RESULTS: A total of 1,070 US ophthalmologists were reimbursed by Medicare for 522,804 DEX injections and 2.6 million TA injections. There was a significant positive trend in the number of DEX (P = 0.01), but not TA, injections per year. Mid-career and late-career physicians performed significantly greater total injections on average compared with early-career physicians (both P < 0.001). Early-career physicians performed a greater proportion of DEX injections than late-career physicians (P = 0.006). Industry payments were positively associated with the proportion of DEX used and inversely correlated with the proportion of TA administered (P < 0.001). On multivariate analysis, years in practice, number of payments, and total value of payments were significantly associated with the number of DEX injections administered (all P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: From 2013 to 2017, the use of DEX increased, whereas TA use remained stable. There was a positive association between DEX use and physician-industry interactions, which may be explained by seniority and experience. This study does not define a causal relationship.

FOLLOW-UP ADHERENCE IN PATIENTS WITH NONPROLIFERATIVE DIABETIC RETINOPATHY PRESENTING TO AN OPHTHALMIC EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT.

PURPOSE: To determine the rate of follow-up after emergent encounters for nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy and to identify patient or visit characteristics associated with follow-up adherence. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study of patients presenting to an ophthalmic emergency department with nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy between May 2014 and December 2018 was conducted. Demographic and encounter data were gathered. Adherence to follow-up was defined as a completed encounter within 5 weeks of the recommended follow-up. RESULTS: A total of 1,248 patients were included. The overall follow-up rate was 53%. Significantly decreased odds of follow-up adherence were associated with longer physician recommended follow-up intervals (odds ratio: 0.81, P < 0.001), longer interval to scheduled appointment (OR: 0.98, P < 0.001), commercial insurance (OR: 0.76, P = 0.01), and lack of any insurance (OR: 0.57, P < 0.01). Significantly increased odds were associated with a longer emergency department visit duration (OR: 1.002, P = 0.001), farther home distance (1.02, P < 0.01), increased likelihood of living in a higher income area (OR: 1.07, P = 0.04), greater NPDR severity (OR: 1.23, P < 0.01), Medicare (OR: 1.38, P = 0.04), presence of macular edema (OR: 1.66, P < 0.001), and worse vision (OR: 1.73, P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Patients presenting emergently with non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy are at high risk for follow-up nonadherence. Several patient and encounter characteristics were associated with follow-up adherence.

Gut microbial dysbiosis in individuals with Sjögren's syndrome.

BACKGROUND: Autoimmune diseases have been associated with changes in the gut microbiome. In this study, the gut microbiome was evaluated in individuals with dry eye and bacterial compositions were correlated to dry eye (DE) measures. We prospectively included 13 individuals with who met full criteria for Sjögren's (SDE) and 8 individuals with features of Sjögren's but who did not meet full criteria (NDE) for a total of 21 cases as compared to 21 healthy controls. Stool was analyzed by 16S pyrosequencing, and associations between bacterial classes and DE symptoms and signs were examined. RESULTS: Results showed that Firmicutes was the dominant phylum in the gut, comprising 40-60% of all phyla. On a phyla level, subjects with DE (SDE and NDE) had depletion of Firmicutes (1.1-fold) and an expansion of Proteobacteria (3.0-fold), Actinobacteria (1.7-fold), and Bacteroidetes (1.3-fold) compared to controls. Shannon's diversity index showed no differences between groups with respect to the numbers of different operational taxonomic units (OTUs) encountered (diversity) and the instances these unique OTUs were sampled (evenness). On the other hand, Faith's phylogenetic diversity showed increased diversity in cases vs controls, which reached significance when comparing SDE and controls (13.57 ± 0.89 and 10.96 ± 0.76, p = 0.02). Using Principle Co-ordinate Analysis, qualitative differences in microbial composition were noted with differential clustering of cases and controls. Dimensionality reduction and clustering of complex microbial data further showed differences between the three groups, with regard to microbial composition, association and clustering. Finally, differences in certain classes of bacteria were associated with DE symptoms and signs. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, individuals with DE had gut microbiome alterations as compared to healthy controls. Certain classes of bacteria were associated with DE measures.

Female Representation in Pediatric Ophthalmology at the American Academy of Ophthalmology Annual Meeting From 2018 to 2022.

PURPOSE: To identify trends in female pediatric ophthalmologist authorship and representation at the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) Annual Meeting from 2018 to 2022. METHODS: Participant data from 2018 to 2022 were collected from the AAO website, organized by conference activity (papers, posters, instruction courses, videos, symposia, subspecialty day, and awards), and analyzed by sex using an online tool. Chi-squared and odds ratio analyses were performed to determine trends in authorship sex and associations between the sex of paper and poster authors in each category. RESULTS: Of 923 pediatric ophthalmology presentations from 2018 to 2022, 46.2% (426 of 923) of presenters and 46.6% (281 of 603) of unique individual participants were women. Overall, 48% (174 of 362) of first and senior authors of papers and posters were women. No significant difference or association between female first and senior authors was observed (52% vs 44%, P = .14; odds ratio 1.59, P = .13). There was no significant change in the proportion of total female presenters from 2018 to 2019 (-3.09%, P = .53), 2019 to 2020 (0.76%, P = .88), 2020 to 2021 (9.09%, P = .09), 2021 to 2022 (-5.68%, P = .30), or 2018 to 2022 (1.08%, P = .84). CONCLUSIONS: Since 2018, female representation at the AAO Annual Meeting has remained consistent and nears 50%. The lack of a significant difference between the proportion of female first and senior authors suggests that junior female pediatric ophthalmologists are climbing the ranks and more broadly engaging in mentorship roles. Considering the increasing proportion of female pediatric ophthalmologists, the absence of corollary, statistically significant increases in female participation may be of concern. [J Pediatr Ophthalmol Strabismus. 2024;61(1):6-13.].

Association Between Preresidency Peer-reviewed Publications and Future Academic Productivity or Career Choice Among Ophthalmology Residency Applicants.

Importance: Ophthalmology-residency selection committees require robust metrics to review applicants. Participation in research activities is a core component of the application process for its perceived association with future academic productivity. Objective: To evaluate the correlation between the number of preresidency peer-reviewed publications (PPPs) and subsequent peer-reviewed publications or career choices of ophthalmology residency graduates. Design, Setting, and Participants: In this cross-sectional study, names of ophthalmology residency graduates were obtained. PubMed-indexed publication records were generated and publications were categorized as preresidency, intraresidency, and postresidency. First author and journal publications with an impact factor (IF) score of 3 or more were recorded. Current academic and community-based career statuses were designated. Names were obtained from cohort and alumni lists on residency program websites or by emailing program directors. Participants included US Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education-accredited ophthalmology residency graduates from 2013 to 2016. Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary outcome measure was association of PPPs with later publications, first authorship, and journal publications with an IF score of 3 or more. The secondary outcome measure was difference in characteristics associated with academic vs community-based ophthalmologist. Results: A total of 964 ophthalmologists (52% of graduates) were studied and most (85.5%) had PubMed-indexed publications. First authorship (ρ = 0.71; 95% CI, 0.67-0.74; P < .001) had a strong positive correlation with intraresidency publications, while journal publications with an IF score of 3 or more (ρ = 0.56; 95% CI, 0.51-0.60; P < .001) and PPPs (ρ = 0.38; 95% CI, 0.32-0.43; P < .001) had moderate and weak positive correlations, respectively. For postresidency publications, journal publications with an IF score of 3 or more (ρ = 0.86; 95% CI, 0.84-0.87; P < .001) had the strongest positive correlation followed by first authorship (ρ = 0.77; 95% CI, 0.74-0.79; P < .001) and PPPs (ρ = 0.26; 95% CI, 0.20-0.31; P < .001). Preresidency (t = 3.3; P = .001), intraresidency (t = 4.1; P < .001), postresidency (t = 7.5; P < .001), first author (t = 6.6; P < .001), and journal publications with an IF score of 3 or more (t = 5.9; P < .001) were greater for academic ophthalmologists compared with community-based ophthalmologists. Conclusions and Relevance: Preresidency publication history is at least weakly correlated with future publications or work in an academic setting among ophthalmologists. Multiple factors associated with academic productivity were evaluated; however, adjustment for multiple analyses was not done and further testing is required to prove whether these factors are predictive.

Fraud Claims Filed Involving Practicing Ophthalmologists from 1985 Through 2020.

Introduction: Like all United States physicians, ophthalmologists may be implicated in lawsuits claiming fraudulent medical practice. In order to educate, raise awareness, and mitigate fraudulent practice, we reviewed a legal database and analyzed fraud claims in ophthalmology lawsuits. Methods: A retrospective legal literature review was performed on jury verdicts and settlements from the online legal database LexisNexis Academic from 1985 through 2020 that were filed by or against an ophthalmologist, involved a fraud claim, and included a final decision or settlement. Cases were evaluated for factors including demographics of plaintiffs and defendants, type of fraud claim, ophthalmologist party status (plaintiff or defendant), decision outcome, and amount awarded (when applicable). Results: Of the 27 cases analyzed, all ophthalmologist defendants involved were male and the most common sub-specialty for an ophthalmologist defendant was refractive surgery. The most common fraud type was a fraud claim involving a malpractice lawsuit (12 of 27), followed by contract fraud and billing fraud. While the ophthalmologists in malpractice-related fraud cases experienced more rulings in favor of the defendant on the fraud claims (8 of 12), ophthalmologists in billing fraud cases experienced fewer rulings in their favor (0 of 5). Discussion: Ophthalmology lawsuits involving fraud claims occurred in various settings, including malpractice lawsuits, contract cases, and Medicare and Medicaid billing. Defendants were all male and most commonly refractive surgeons.

Trends in Immunosuppressive Agent Use for Non-Infectious Uveitis by US Ophthalmologists in Medicare Beneficiaries and Association with Physician-Industry Interactions.

PURPOSE: To report the trends of immunosuppressive drug use for non-infectious uveitis and explore their relationship with industry payments. METHODS: A retrospective review of ophthalmologists reimbursed by Medicare for the administration of adalimumab (ADA), repository corticotropin (RCI), methotrexate (MTX), and mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) between 2014 and 2018. RESULTS: A total of 316 ophthalmologists were reimbursed by Medicare for 1567 ADA, 465 RCI, 1752 MTX, and 12 333 MMF administrations. The number and dollar amount of industry payments were positively associated with ADA and RCI use (P < 0.001). From 2014 to 2018, there was a positive trend in the proportion of ADA (P = 0.007) and RCI (P = 0.007) used and negative trend in the proportion of MMF (P = 0.025) used. CONCLUSION: From 2014 to 2018, the use of ADA and RCI increased while MMF decreased and MTX remained stable. There was a positive association between ADA and RCI use and physician-industry interactions. A causal relationship is not determined.

Trends in Sports-Related Ocular Trauma in United States Emergency Departments from 2010 to 2019: Multi-Center Cross-Sectional Study.

IMPORTANCE: Traumatic eye injury is one of the leading causes of visual impairment in the United States, but there is limited information available in the literature about ocular trauma related to sports. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the primary ocular diagnosis, type of sport, seasonal prevalence, and injury severity following ocular sports-related trauma. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: United States (US) hospital emergency departments (ED). PARTICIPANTS: Patients with sports-related ocular injuries in the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System All Injury Program (NEISS-AIP) database from January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2019. MAIN OUTCOME AND MEASURE: To identify and compare the type of sport, primary diagnosis of ocular injury, and injury severity. RESULTS: For 4,671 sports-related ocular injuries identified, the mean age of injury was 19.4±15.2 years (median: 15.0 years, 79% male). The largest proportion of injuries occurred in the 12-17 years of age cohort (38.6%), occurring during summer months (P< .001). The most common sports associated with eye injury were basketball (37.8%), baseball (13.8%),, and football (12.3%). There were 3,214 injuries (68.8%) deemed 'minor' anterior segment injuries, 359 injuries (7.7%) deemed 'major' anterior segment injuries, 31 injuries (0.7%) deemed 'minor' posterior segment injuries, 77 injuries (1.7%) deemed 'major' posterior segment injuries, and 990 injuries (21.2%) of unknown severity. Basketball-related ocular trauma had a greater frequency of corneal/scleral abrasions than baseball (P < .001), soccer (P < .001), tennis (P = .03), softball (P = .001), and paintball (P = .02). Baseball-related ocular trauma had a greater frequency of contusions than basketball (P < .001), football (P < .001), soccer (P < .001), volleyball (P< .001). Paintball and soccer were more associated with 'major' anterior and posterior ocular injuries than basketball (P < .001, for both). CONCLUSION AND RELEVANCE: Sports-related trauma remains a highly prevalent cause of eye-related visits to the emergency room, particularly in young male adolescents in the spring and summertime. While most diagnoses were deemed 'minor' injuries with basketball associated with corneal/scleral abrasions and baseball with contusions, paintball, and soccer were more significantly associated with 'major' anterior and posterior ocular injuries.

Do Plastic Surgery Residents Get Sued? An Analysis of Malpractice Lawsuits.

Trainees may be implicated in malpractice lawsuits. Our study examines malpractice cases involving plastic surgery trainees. Methods: Using the LexisNexis database, verdicts and settlements from appellate state and federal cases between February 1988 and 2020 were queried. A nonrepresentative sample of 300 cases was compiled. Results: During a 32-year period, 21 lawsuits involving plastic surgery trainees were identified. Of these, 14 (66.67%) involved claims when a trainee was directly named as a defendant. Eighteen (85.7%) cases were due to procedural-related adverse outcomes, while three (14.3%) cases were associated with clinical or diagnostic-related adverse outcomes. Of the procedure-related cases, five (27.8%) occurred when the trainee was the lead surgeon. Allegations included lack of informed consent of procedure complications (11, 52.4%), procedural error (11, 52.4%), failure to supervise trainee (11, 52.4%), inexperience of trainee (eight, 38.1%), incorrect diagnosis or treatment (five, 23.8%), delay in evaluation (three, 14.3%), lack of awareness of resident involvement (three, 14.3%), lack of follow-up (three, 14.3%), and prolonged operative time (one, 4.8%). Median time from injury to lawsuit resolution was 3.8 years [interquartile range (IQR), 3-5 years]. Verdicts were ruled in favor of the defense in eight (38.1%) cases and for plaintiff in six (28.6%) cases. A settlement was made in seven (33.3%) cases. Median payout for plaintiff-won cases was $5,100,000 (IQR, $1,530,000-$17,500,000); the median settlement was $2,500,000 (IQR, $262,500-$4,410,000). Conclusions: Procedural error, improper informed consent, improper trainee supervision, and resident inexperience were the most common allegations. These factors can lead to financial and psychological burdens early in a physician's career.

Ergonomics of Ophthalmic Surgery: Evaluating the Effect of a Posture Trainer on Trainee Intraoperative Back Posture.

Purpose Ophthalmic surgeons are at an increased risk for musculoskeletal disorders resulting from ophthalmology-specific routines and equipment, which have become widely associated with poor posture. The purpose of this study was to observe the effect that a commercially available posture trainer, Upright Go, can have on the improvement of posture of ophthalmic surgeons. Methods Eight ophthalmologists-in-training were studied over a period of 4 weeks during their surgical rotations between September 2020 and June 2021. Participants underwent an "observation" period, followed by a 2-week "training" period, then a final "testing" period. The percentage of time users spent upright intraoperatively pre- and posttraining was evaluated. Pre- and poststudy surveys were also administered to help measure participant satisfaction and self-reported changes in posture. Results All eight participants demonstrated an increase in the percentage of time spent upright after the training period. Across all participants, the total average percentage spent upright in the observation period was 59.8%, while in the testing period was 87.1%, resulting in an average improvement of 27.3% of time spent in an upright position after the completion of the training period ( p < 0.0001). The range of improvement of time spent upright was 16.0 to 46.5%. Conclusion This cohort study utilized the Upright Go device to help determine the effect that its training could have on the improvement of posture in ophthalmic surgeons. The results indicated a significant increase in the average proportion of time spent with upright posture compared after the training period.

Effect of the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic on Authorship Gender Disparities in the Ophthalmology Literature.

Background Studies in several fields of medicine have found that women published less during the COVID-19 pandemic, potentially due to an increase in domestic responsibilities. This study examines whether a similar pattern exists for female authorship in ophthalmology. Purpose To compare the proportions of female authorship published in high-impact ophthalmology journals before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods A cross-sectional study analyzing authorship gender of articles published during the COVID-19 pandemic (between July and September 2020) compared with matched articles published in the same journals before the COVID-19 pandemic (between July and September 2019). Gender of the first and last authors was analyzed using an online gender determination tool. Results A total of 577 articles and 1,113 authors were analyzed. There was no significant difference in the average number of publications by male and female authors before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. There was a significant increase in the percentage of female first authorship from the prepandemic period (32%) to during the COVID-19 pandemic (40%; p = 0.01), but no significant increase in the last authorship ( p > 0.05). When analyzing only research articles, a similar increase in female first authorship was noted when comparing the publications before (31%) and during the COVID-19 pandemic (43%; p = 0.02). No significant differences were noted when analyzing the editorials ( p > 0.05). Conclusion While disparities continue to exist between male and female authorship, an increase in female first authorship was noted during the COVID-19 pandemic for overall articles as well as research articles. Precis During the COVID-19 pandemic, female authorship as first and last authors of peer-reviewed articles in high-impact ophthalmology journals was below 50%. However, while the overall rates of female authorship were unchanged, female first authorship significantly increased during the pandemic. These results differ from studies published in other medical fields that demonstrated a decrease in female authorship during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Misinterpretations of Significance Testing Results Near the P-Value Threshold in the Urologic Literature.

Background The outcome of a statistical test is to accept or reject a null hypothesis. Reporting a metric as "trending toward significance" is a misinterpretation of the p-value. Studies highlighting the prevalence of statistical errors in the urologic literature remain scarce. We evaluated abstracts from 15 urology journals published within the years 2000-2021 and provided a quantitative measure of a common statistical mistake-misconstruing the function of null hypothesis testing by reporting "a trend toward significance." Materials and methods We performed an audit of 15 urology journals, looking at articles published from January 1, 2000, to January 1, 2022. A word recognition function in Microsoft Excel was utilized to identify the use of the word "trend" in the abstracts. Each use of the word "trend" was manually investigated by two authors to determine whether it was improperly used in describing non-statistically significant data as trending toward significance. Statistics and data analysis were performed using Python libraries: pandas, scipy.stats, and seaborn. Results This study included 101,134 abstracts from 15 urology journals. Within those abstracts, the word "trend" was used 2,509 times, 572 uses of which were describing non-statistically significant data as trending toward significance. There was a statistically significant difference in the rate of errors between the 15 journals (p < 0.01). The highest rate of improper use of the word "trend" was found in Bladder Cancer with a rate of 1.6% (p < 0.01) of articles. The lowest rate of improper use was found in European Urology, with a rate of 0.3% (p < 0.01). Our analysis found a moderate correlation between the number of articles published and the number of misuses of the word "trend" within each journal and across all journals every year (r = 0.61 and 0.70, respectively). Conclusion The overall rate of p-value misinterpretation never exceeded 2% of articles in each journal. There is significance in the difference in misinterpretation rates between the different journals. Authors' utilization of the word "trend" describing non-significant p-values as being near significant should be used with caution.