Multi-Investigator Collaboration in Orthopaedic Surgery Research Compared to Other Medical Fields: Update Comparing 2021 to 2009.

The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence of multicenter studies in the orthopaedic literature compared to general medicine and other surgical subspecialty studies as an update to a previous study. The number of multicenter research studies across three orthopaedic surgery journals was higher in 2021 compared to 2009 [7.2% (95% CI 5.1%-9.4%, χ 2 (df=1) = 43.8, p<0.0001], as was the number of authors and institutions listed on clinical research studies. While these trends in multicenter research publishing are encouraging, orthopaedic surgery still lags behind the general medicine and other surgical subspecialty literature bases. Of the 934 orthopaedic surgery studies published, 92 (9.9%) were multicenter studies compared to 64.4% of the general medicine and 26.9% of the other surgical subspecialty studies. [(χ 2 (df=2) = 472.6, p<0.001]. Multicenter trials conducted in orthopaedics have fundamentally changed musculoskeletal care, affecting the lives of millions of patients. Participation in multicenter research should be encouraged and prioritized through continued advocacy, funding, support, and direction from orthopaedic governing bodies, journals and subspecialty groups. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.