STARD – STAndards for Reporting of studies of Diagnostic accuracy
Jon Deeks and Doug Altman with the STARD group (led by Patrick Bossuyt, Amsterdam)
The objective of the Standards for Reporting of Diagnostic Accuracy (STARD) initiative is to improve the quality of reporting of studies of diagnostic accuracy. Complete and accurate reporting allows the reader to detect the potential for bias in the study (internal validity) and to assess the generalisability and applicability of the results (external validity).
The Standards for Reporting of Diagnostic Accuracy (STARD) steering committee searched the literature to identify publications on the appropriate conduct and reporting of diagnostic studies and extracted potential items into an extensive list. Researchers (including JD), editors, and members of professional organisations shortened this list during a 2-day consensus meeting with the goal of developing a checklist and a generic flow diagram for studies of diagnostic accuracy.
The resulting STARD statement contains a 25-item checklist and a prototype of a flow diagram provides information about the method of recruitment of patients, the order of test execution and the numbers of patients undergoing the test under evaluation, the reference standard, or both.
Evaluation of research depends on complete and accurate reporting. If medical journals adopt the checklist and the flow diagram, the quality of reporting of studies of diagnostic accuracy should improve to the advantage of clinicians, researchers, reviewers, journals, and the public.
Publication: 43
