Research from JAMA — Comparisons of Citations in Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar for Articles Published in General Medical Journals

In 2016, an estimated 50 million adults in the United States were living with chronic noncancer pain,¹ many of whom were prescribed opioid medications.^2-4 From 2013 to 2016, the United States was the largest per-capita consumer of opioids in the world.^5,6 The effects of opioids on chronic pain are uncertain,⁷ whereas the harms found to be associated with prescription opioids include diversion,⁸ addiction,⁹ overdose, and death.¹⁰

Named or branded (trade-marked) weight loss programs are broadly available to the general public, providing structured dietary and lifestyle recommendations via popular books and in-person or online behavioral support. These programs represent a multibillion dollar industry.¹ Debate regarding the relative merit of the diets is accompanied by advertising claiming which macronutrient composition is superior, such as a low-carbohydrate diet being better than a low-fat diet, and the benefits of accompanying lifestyle interventions. Establishing which of the major named diets is most effective is important because overweight and obese patients often want to know which diet results in the most effective weight loss.

Conducting high-quality randomized clinical trials (RCTs) is challenging and resource-demanding. Trials are often not conducted as planned or are even prematurely discontinued, eg, for reasons of unexpected harm from the intervention, early superiority, futility, administrative problems, or poor recruitment of participants. Trial discontinuation poses ethical concerns, particularly if results remain unreported, and may represent a considerable waste of scarce research resources.^1-3