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Clifford S Perlis

Publications and source records attributed to Clifford S Perlis.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

Extent and impact of industry sponsorship conflicts of interest in dermatology research.

BACKGROUND: Many published clinical trials are authored by investigators with financial conflicts of interest. The general medical literature documents the pervasive extent and sometimes problematic impact of these conflicts. Accordingly, there is renewed discussion about author disclosure and clinical trial registry to minimize publication bias from financial conflicts of interest. Despite this evolving discussion in the general medical literature, little is known about the extent or role of financial conflicts of interest in dermatology research. OBJECTIVE: Our purpose was to determine the extent and impact of industry sponsorship conflicts of interest in dermatology research. METHODS: We recorded potential financial conflicts of interest, study design, and study outcome in 179 clinical trials published between Oct 1, 2000 and Oct 1, 2003 in four leading dermatology journals. RESULTS: Forty-three percent of analyzed studies included at least one author with a reported conflict of interest. These studies were more likely to report a positive result, demonstrate higher methodological quality, and include a larger sample size. CONCLUSIONS: Conflict of interest in clinical investigations in dermatology appears to be prevalent and associated with potentially significant differences in study methodology and reporting.

Biomedical Research↗

Gentamicin ointment versus petrolatum for management of auricular wounds.

BACKGROUND: Surgeons frequently create defects on the ear in the treatment of cutaneous malignancies. Potentially significant complications of second-intention healing on the ear are suppurative and inflammatory chondritis. Consequently, many physicians advocate the use of oral or topical prophylactic antibiotics after auricular surgery. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to compare the efficacy of gentamicin ointment with that of petrolatum for the prevention of suppurative chondritis during second-intention healing of auricular wounds after Mohs surgery. METHODS: One hundred forty-two patients with a total of 147 second-intention wounds were prospectively selected to receive either gentamicin ointment or petrolatum postoperatively. RESULTS: One hundred forty-four wounds were evaluated in a follow-up examination or by telephone interview. Eight (5.56%) wounds developed suppurative chondritis. Four wounds received gentamicin and four received petrolatum, for incidences of 4.76% and 6.67%, respectively. Twelve (8.33%) other wounds developed inflammatory chondritis. Ten (11.90%) received gentamicin and two (3.33%) received petrolatum. CONCLUSIONS: There is no statistically significant difference between the use of gentamicin ointment and petrolatum in the prevention of postoperative auricular suppurative chondritis. The data also demonstrate a disproportionate number of cases of inflammatory chondritis in the gentamicin-treated group. This study supports the cost-effective and potentially less irritating use of petrolatum for wound care in this difficult to manage area.

Adult↗

Industry sponsorship and financial conflict of interest in the reporting of clinical trials in psychiatry.

OBJECTIVE: Financial conflict of interest has been reported to be prevalent in clinical trials in general medicine and associated with a greater likelihood of reporting results favorable to the intervention being studied. The extent and implications of industry sponsorship and financial conflict of interest in psychiatric clinical trials have not been investigated, to the authors' knowledge. METHOD: The authors examined funding source and author financial conflict of interest in all clinical trials published in the American Journal of Psychiatry, the Archives of General Psychiatry, the Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology, and the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry between 2001 and 2003. RESULTS: Among 397 clinical trials identified, 239 (60%) reported receiving funding from a pharmaceutical company or other interested party, and 187 studies (47%) included at least one author with a reported financial conflict of interest. Among the 162 randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies examined, those that reported conflict of interest were 4.9 times more likely to report positive results; this association was significant only among the subset of pharmaceutical industry-funded studies. CONCLUSIONS: Author conflict of interest appears to be prevalent among psychiatric clinical trials and to be associated with a greater likelihood of reporting a drug to be superior to placebo.

Conflict of Interest↗