Background
KNEE OSTEOARTHRITIS
There is substantial concern within the scientific community about the profusion of incompletely reported and misreported studies. Projects such as the Restoring Invisible & Abandoned Trials (RIAT) initiative (In this article, we present the results of our RIAT reanalysis of a clinical trial on plasma rich in growth factors (PRGF) known as BTI-01-EC/07/ART, hereafter referred to as Study PRGF. The original study was sponsored by BTI Biotechnology Institute (BTI). We acknowledge the work of the original investigators. This double-blind, randomized controlled trial was designed to assess the efficacy and safety of PRGF compared with hyaluronic acid for adults suffering from symptomatic knee osteoarthritis. It was reported in Chronologically, on 8 January 2019, the RIAT researchers asked the study’s corresponding author for the related protocol, final report and Ethics Committee resolutions, which were granted on 14 January 2019. Once the dossier was reviewed, the RIAT researchers wrote again on 21 January 2019 to explain in detail every detected concern, asking for clarification. From that time on, two phone calls and twelve emails were exchanged. In accordance with RIAT procedures, the RIAT researchers made public on 27 March 2019 the need to correct the article and simultaneously informed the contact author about this ‘call to action’ [Study PRGF was a multicentre, 24-week, double-blind, randomized controlled trial [