An important new article was recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine about selective publication of clinical trials - and the outcomes within those trials. This practice can lead to unrealistic estimates of drug effectiveness and alter the apparent risk-benefit ratio.
The authors, from Kent State University, the Oregon Health Sciences University and Harvard University, compared studies submitted to the Food and Drug Administration about 12 antidepressants to the published studies on these drugs. Studies viewed by the FDA as having negative or questionable results were, with 3 exceptions, either not published (22 studies) or published in a way that, in the authors' opinion, conveyed a positive outcome (11 studies).
See the full article at