Reporting of sample size parameters for randomized controlled trials published in high impact factor endodontic journals in the last decade: A bibliometric analysis

Introduction: Analysis of journals helps in identifying areas of improvement in the respective field as an author/reviewer. The aim of the present study was to report the parameters used in sample size calculations for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published in Journal of Endodontics (JOE) and International Endodontic Journal (IEJ) in the last decade. Materials and Methods: A Medline search retrieved all published RCTs in JOE and IEJ from the last decade. The searche was limited to RCTs studies published in english language from January 01, 2010 to April 31, 2020 having enrolled human participants. Articles were reviewed for description of method used to calculate sample size and reporting of parameters i.e. (level of significance, power, effect size, and variance) used for sample size calculation. The data were statistically analyzed. Results: Sample size was mentioned in 94.5% of all articles. Alpha was reported in 81.6% followed by power, effect size, and variance as 67.3%, 57.1%, and 11.5%, respectively. Only 8.7% articles explicitly reported all four parameters of sample size. Conclusion: The reporting of sample size calculation parameters for RCTs was inconsistent. Authors, editors, and reviewers need to increase the reporting of adequate sample size parameters to make the results of RCTs more robust for clinical applications.