Do Some Patients Count More Than Others? Reporting Outcomes of the Same Patient in More Than One Study Requires Disclosure.

Abstract

Clinical databases allow researchers to test multiple hypotheses. This could result in including outcomes on the same patient or patients in more than 1 study. When this occurs, it is vital for authors to clarify multiple reporting in their study methods to avoid having patients counted more than once in future systematic reviews or meta-analyses. As a caveat, primary authors should consider whether publication of multiple studies is important or whether they are simply generating "least publishable units" (LPUs, also known as salami slicing).