title: STARD 2015 guidelines for reporting diagnostic accuracy studies: explanation and elaboration.
abstract: Diagnostic accuracy studies are, like other clinical studies, at risk of bias due to shortcomings in design and conduct, and the results of a diagnostic accuracy study may not apply to other patient groups and settings. Readers of study reports need to be informed about study design and conduct, in sufficient detail to judge the trustworthiness and applicability of the study findings. The STARD statement (Standards for Reporting of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies) was developed to improve the completeness and transparency of reports of diagnostic accuracy studies. STARD contains a list of essential items that can be used as a checklist, by authors, reviewers and other readers, to ensure that a report of a diagnostic accuracy study contains the necessary information. STARD was recently updated. All updated STARD materials, including the checklist, are available at http://www.equator-network.org/reporting-guidelines/stard Here, we present the STARD 2015 explanation and elaboration document. Through commented examples of appropriate reporting, we clarify the rationale for each of the 30 items on the STARD 2015 checklist, and describe what is expected from authors in developing sufficiently informative study reports.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Academic Medical Centre, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.|Department of Pediatrics, INSERM UMR 1153, Necker Hospital, AP-HP, Paris Descartes University, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Jérémie F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Cohen
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Academic Medical Centre, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Daniël A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Korevaar
authors.affiliation: Nuffield Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences, Centre for Statistics in Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
authors.forename: Douglas G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Altman
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA.
authors.forename: David E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Bruns
authors.affiliation: Department of Biostatistics, Brown University School of Public Health, Providence, Rhode Island, USA.
authors.forename: Constantine A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Gatsonis
authors.affiliation: Cochrane Netherlands, Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Center Utrecht, University of Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Lotty
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hooft
authors.affiliation: Screening and Diagnostic Test Evaluation Program, School of Public Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
authors.forename: Les
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Irwig
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.|Radiology Editorial Office, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: Deborah
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Levine
authors.affiliation: Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Center Utrecht, University of Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Johannes B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Reitsma
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, EMGO Institute for Health and Care Research, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Henrica C W
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: de Vet
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Academic Medical Centre, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Patrick M M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Bossuyt
mesh_terms: D026683:Advisory Committees; D015982:Bias; D035843:Biomedical Research; D057189:Checklist; D019937:Diagnostic Techniques and Procedures / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D011643:Publishing; D012107:Research Design; D009626:Terminology as Topic
keywords: Diagnostic accuracy; Medical publishing; Peer review; Reporting quality; Research waste; Sensitivity and specificity