Lessons learnt on transparency, scientific process and publication ethics. The short story of a long journey to get into the public domain unpublished data, methodological flaws and bias of the Cochrane HPV vaccines review

Ref ID	709
First Author	C. Riva
Journal	BMJ EVIDENCE-BASED MEDICINE
Year Of Publishing	2019
URL	https://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjebm-2018-111119
Keywords	• Cochrane • General medical • Risk of bias • Disclosure • Subgroup
Problem(s)	• Meta-analyses and forest plots presented without considering risk of bias / quality • Unplanned or unjustified subgroup or sensitivity analyses • Flawed risk of bias undertaken • Risk of bias not incorporated into conclusions of review • Financial conflicts of interest of review authors
Number of systematic reviews included	1
Summary of Findings	Concerns included: studies’ quality not properly assessed; post hoc subgroup analyses presented as randomised controlled trial results; reporting bias not acknowledged; selective reporting not taken into consideration; biased trial designs; unpublished data not included; conflict of interests in the authors’ group; included studies for interventions no longer marketed in the USA
Did the article find that the problem(s) led to qualitative changes in interpretation of the results?	N/A
Are the methods of the article described in enough detail to replicate the study?	N/A