title: Quality of reporting of diagnostic accuracy studies on pelvic floor three-dimensional transperineal ultrasound: a systematic review.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  In recent years, a large number of studies have been published on the clinical relevance of pelvic floor three-dimensional (3D) transperineal ultrasound. Several studies compare sonography with other imaging modalities or clinical examination. The quality of reporting in these studies is not known. The objective of this systematic review was to determine the compliance of diagnostic accuracy studies investigating pelvic floor 3D ultrasound with the Standards for Reporting of Diagnostic Accuracy (STARD) guidelines.
  
  
  METHODS
  Published articles on pelvic floor 3D ultrasound were identified by a systematic literature search of MEDLINE, Web of Science and Scopus databases. Prospective and retrospective studies that compared pelvic floor 3D ultrasound with other clinical and imaging diagnostics were included in the analysis. STARD compliance was assessed and quantified by two independent investigators, using 22 of the original 25 STARD checklist items. Items with the qualifier 'if done' (Items 13, 23 and 24) were excluded because they were not applicable to all papers. Each item was scored as reported (score = 1) or not reported (score = 0). Observer variability, the total number of reported STARD items per article and summary scores for each item were calculated. The difference in total score between STARD-adopting and non-adopting journals was tested statistically, as was the effect of year of publication.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Forty studies published in 13 scientific journals were included in the analysis. Mean ± SD STARD checklist score of the included articles was 16.0 ± 2.5 out of a maximum of 22 points. The lowest scores (< 50%) were found for reporting of handling of indeterminate results or missing responses, adverse events and the time interval between tests. Interobserver agreement for rating the STARD items was excellent (intraclass correlation coefficient, 0.77). An independent t-test showed no significant mean difference ± SD in total STARD checklist score between STARD-adopting and non-adopting journals (16.4 ± 2.2 vs 15.9 ± 2.6, respectively). Mean ± SD STARD checklist score for articles published in 2003-2009 was lower, but not statistically different, compared with those published in 2010-2015 (15.2 ± 2.5 vs 16.6 ± 2.4, respectively).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The overall compliance with reporting guidelines of diagnostic accuracy studies on pelvic floor 3D transperineal ultrasound is relatively good compared with other fields of medicine. However, specific checklist items require more attention when reported. Copyright © 2016 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
authors.affiliation: Department of Reproductive Medicine and Gynecology, University Medical Center, Utrecht, The Netherlands.|MIRA Institute for Biomedical Technology and Technical Medicine, University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: A T M
authors.initials: ATM
authors.lastname: Grob
authors.affiliation: Amsterdam Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: L R
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: van der Vaart
authors.affiliation: Department of Reproductive Medicine and Gynecology, University Medical Center, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: M I J
authors.initials: MIJ
authors.lastname: Withagen
authors.affiliation: Department of Reproductive Medicine and Gynecology, University Medical Center, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: C H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: van der Vaart
mesh_terms: D059925:Anatomic Landmarks; D057189:Checklist; D005260:Female; D019983:Guideline Adherence; D017408:Guidelines as Topic; D006801:Humans; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D017773:Pelvic Floor / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D010502:Perineum / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D011786:Quality Control; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D014463:Ultrasonography / Q000379:methods
keywords: STARD checklist; diagnostic accuracy study; pelvic floor ultrasound; quality reporting