Comprehensive reporting of clinical trial design, conduct and analyses is crucial for the accurate interpretation of trial results. In this issue, the CONSORT 2025 statement and SPIRIT 2025 statement provide updated guidance on reporting randomised clinical trials and protocols to improve reporting quality and facilitate more transparent communication of clinical trial data and design. This accompanying Editorial, written on behalf of the PLOS Medicine editors, delves into the power that improving clinical trial reporting can ultimately confer to trial design and reproducibility.
Image Credit: Laura James
Editorials
Predatory journals: What can we do to protect their prey?
PLOS Medicine: published April 2, 2025 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1004542
Improving transparency in clinical trial reporting
PLOS Medicine: published April 28, 2025 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1004588
Related Articles
Perspectives
A consideration of the potential benefits and harms of menopausal hormone treatment
PLOS Medicine: published April 10, 2025 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1004567
Related Articles
The cardiology community begins to embrace obesity as an important target for cardiovascular health
PLOS Medicine: published April 24, 2025 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1004578
Guidelines and Guidance
CONSORT 2025 statement: Updated guideline for reporting randomised trials
PLOS Medicine: published April 14, 2025 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1004587
Related Articles
SPIRIT 2025 statement: Updated guideline for protocols of randomised trials
PLOS Medicine: published April 28, 2025 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1004589
Related Articles
Research Articles
Frailty in randomized controlled trials of glucose-lowering therapies for type 2 diabetes: An individual participant data meta-analysis of frailty prevalence, treatment efficacy, and adverse events
PLOS Medicine: published April 7, 2025 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1004553
Food additive mixtures and type 2 diabetes incidence: Results from the NutriNet-Santé prospective cohort
PLOS Medicine: published April 8, 2025 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1004570
Maternal dietary patterns, breastfeeding duration, and their association with child cognitive function and head circumference growth: A prospective mother–child cohort study
PLOS Medicine: published April 10, 2025 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1004454
Genome-wide nucleosome footprints of plasma cfDNA predict preterm birth: A case-control study
PLOS Medicine: published April 15, 2025 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1004571
Recurrence prediction using circulating tumor DNA in patients with early-stage non-small cell lung cancer after treatment with curative intent: A retrospective validation study
PLOS Medicine: published April 15, 2025 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1004574
First-trimester exposure to macrolides and risk of major congenital malformations compared with amoxicillin: A French nationwide cohort study
PLOS Medicine: published April 15, 2025 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1004576
Reduced insulin use and diabetes complications upon introduction of SGLT-2 inhibitors and GLP1-receptor agonists in low- and middle-income countries: A microsimulation
PLOS Medicine: published April 17, 2025 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1004559
Endovascular thrombectomy in acute stroke with a large ischemic core: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
PLOS Medicine: published April 17, 2025 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1004484
Cardiovascular disease risk in patients with psoriasis receiving biologics targeting TNF-α, IL-12/23, IL-17, and IL-23: A population-based retrospective cohort study
PLOS Medicine: published April 17, 2025 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1004591
Progressing towards the 2030 health-related SDGs in ASEAN: A systematic analysis
PLOS Medicine: published April 21, 2025 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1004551
Corrections
Correction: Potential public health impacts of gonorrhea vaccination programmes under declining incidences: A modeling study
PLOS Medicine: published April 1, 2025 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1004573
Related Articles
Correction: Comparing cervical cerclage, pessary and vaginal progesterone for prevention of preterm birth in women with a short cervix (SuPPoRT): A multicentre randomised controlled trial
PLOS Medicine: published April 17, 2025 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1004594
Related Articles
Correction: Contraception use and pregnancy in women receiving a 2-dose Ebola vaccine in Rwanda: A retrospective analysis of UMURINZI vaccination campaign data
PLOS Medicine: published April 30, 2025 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1004605