Transparent reporting of study methods and findings can dramatically expand the reliability and impact of health research. Evidence-based reporting checklists and guidelines, such as those hosted by the EQUATOR network, provide a framework for summarizing statistics, methods and data presentation. While being increasingly used in several research fields, such trend toward better control seems in its infancy in the field of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). By the present work we aimed at assessing the quality of methodological and statistical reporting of TMS-based investigations in individuals with neurological motor impairments. We completed a methodological survey of all the studies conducted in the last two decades on the application of TMS to evaluate motor impairments in individual with neurological conditions. The pre-planned literature search of three major biomedical databases resulted in 1109 articles retrieved, 571 of which satisfied the eligibility criteria. The survey revealed that most of the studies suffered from relevant methodological and statistical issues, which potentially affect data interpretation and usability. Among these, sample size calculation, indices of change other than p values, reproducibility and clinical relevance/responsiveness emerged as those elements most commonly neglected. To increase research reliability of TMS data, we recommend adhering to international initiatives like the EQUATOR, that can impact clinical research by promoting adequate reporting. In particular, we advocate an update of the submission policies of the journals active in this field in line with adjacent areas, such as neurorehabilitation, that require the uploading of completed checklists that rationalize reporting.

研究方法和结果的透明报告可以显着扩大健康研究的可靠性和影响。循证报告清单和指南，例如由 EQUATOR 网络托管的清单，为总结统计数据、方法和数据呈现提供了一个框架。虽然越来越多地用于多个研究领域，但这种更好控制的趋势在经颅磁刺激 (TMS) 领域似乎还处于起步阶段。通过目前的工作，我们旨在评估基于 TMS 的神经运动障碍个体调查的方法和统计报告的质量。我们完成了对过去二十年进行的所有研究的方法论调查，这些研究应用 TMS 来评估患有神经系统疾病的个体的运动障碍。对三大生物医学数据库进行预先计划的文献检索，检索到 1109 篇文章，其中 571 篇符合资格标准。调查显示，大多数研究都存在相关的方法论和统计问题，这可能会影响数据解释和可用性。其中，样本量计算、变化指数除p值、再现性和临床相关性/反应性成为最常被忽视的那些要素。为了提高 TMS 数据的研究可靠性，我们建议遵守 EQUATOR 等国际倡议，这些倡议可以通过促进充分的报告来影响临床研究。特别是，我们主张更新活跃在该领域的期刊的提交政策，以与相邻领域（例如神经康复）相一致，这些领域需要上传完整的清单以使报告合理化。