From: Reporting studies on time to diagnosis: proposal of a guideline by an international panel (REST)
Number | Items | Pagec |
---|---|---|
Title | ||
1 | Identify the article as a study on time to diagnosis | |
Introduction | ||
2aa | Explain the scientific background and rationale for the study | |
2ba | State specific objective(s) | |
Methods | ||
3a | Describe the setting, location(s), and relevant dates, including periods of recruitment | |
4 | State eligibility criteria of participants (i.e., inclusion and exclusion criteria, especially diagnostic criteria) | |
5 | Describe the source population (i.e., the population with signs and symptoms that usually trigger healthcare professionals to initiate the diagnostic procedures) and how the participants were identified within it | |
6b | State how known subgroups of participants with an inherent individual risk of short or long time to diagnosis were handled (e.g., by subgroup analysis, exclusion) | |
7 | Define time points (e.g., time of first signs and symptoms, time of diagnosis) and time intervalsb (e.g., patient or physician intervals) | |
8a | State the methods used to collect study data (e.g., extraction from medical records, participant interview or questionnaires, analysis of an already existing database, other) | |
9 | Describe how time points were assessed (e.g., number of assessors, their qualifications) | |
10ab | If the study aimed to evaluate associations between participant characteristics and time to diagnosis, state whether assessors of time to diagnosis were blinded to these characteristics | |
10bb | If the study aimed to evaluate associations between time to diagnosis and participant health outcomes (e.g., survival), state whether assessors of time to diagnosis were blinded to these outcomes | |
11 | Describe the statistical methods used, including whether time to diagnosis was analyzed as a continuous or categorized variable (e.g., delayed versus not delayed) | |
12b | If the study aimed to evaluate associations between time to diagnosis and other factors (e.g., participant characteristics or health outcomes), describe which confounders were considered and how they were chosen, measured and analyzed | |
13a | Give a rationale for the sample size | |
Results | ||
14 | Report the number of individuals at each step of the selection process between the source population and participants with data analyzed and provide a flowchart (see example); give reasons for non-participation at each stage | |
15a | Report demographic and clinical characteristics of participants | |
16 | Report the distribution of time to diagnosis | |
17b | If associations between time to diagnosis and other factors (e.g., participant characteristics or health outcomes) were described, report measures of association and their precision (e.g., confidence intervals) | |
Discussion | ||
18a | Summarize key results with reference to study objectives and discuss their potential clinical implications | |
19a | Discuss sources of potential bias, including bias due to the selection of participants from the source population (e.g., undiagnosed cases) and to the assessment of time points | |
19bb | If association between time to diagnosis and survival was studied, discuss possible lead-time bias |