Protocol for developing the reporting guidelines for radiological case reports: Case Report for Radiology statement

Mengshu Wang; Ying Zhu; Xufei Luo; Xiaojuan Xiao; Ling Wang; Meng Lv; Qi Wang; Yaolong Chen; Junqiang Lei; Jinhui Tian

doi:10.21037/atm-21-7028

Protocol for developing the reporting guidelines for radiological case reports: Case Report for Radiology statement

Ann Transl Med. 2022 Jan;10(2):107. doi: 10.21037/atm-21-7028.

Authors

Mengshu Wang^#^{1

2}, Ying Zhu^#^{3

4

5}, Xufei Luo^#⁶, Xiaojuan Xiao⁷, Ling Wang⁶, Meng Lv^{8

9

10}, Qi Wang^{5

11}, Yaolong Chen^{1

12

13

14}, Junqiang Lei^{2

15

16}, Jinhui Tian^{1

14}

Affiliations

¹ Evidence-Based Medicine Center, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China.
² Department of Radiology, The First Hospital of Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China.
³ The Michael G. DeGroote Cochrane Canada Center, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
⁴ The MacGRADE Center, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
⁵ Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact (HEI), McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
⁶ School of Public Health, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China.
⁷ Department of Radiology, The Eighth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen, China.
⁸ Department of Nephrology, Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China.
⁹ National Clinical Research Center for Child Health and Disorders, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Child Development and Disorders, China International Science and Technology Cooperation Base of Child Development and Critical Disorders, Chongqing, China.
¹⁰ Chongqing Key Laboratory of Pediatrics, Chongqing, China.
¹¹ McMaster Health Forum, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
¹² Institute of Health Data Science, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China.
¹³ World Health Organization Collaboration Center for Guideline Implementation and Knowledge Translation, Lanzhou, China.
¹⁴ Key Laboratory of Evidence Based Medicine and Knowledge Translation of Gansu Province, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China.
¹⁵ Intelligent Imaging Medical Engineering Research Center of Gansu Province, Lanzhou, China.
¹⁶ Accurate Image Collaborative Innovation International Science and Technology Cooperation Base of Gansu Province, Lanzhou, China.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Background: In radiology, case reports play an important role in the presentation of a new disease or an unusual form of a common disease using radiological images. Radiology practitioners can refer to the CAse REport (CARE) statement to write and improve the quality of case reports; however, some CARE items are not applicable to the field of radiology. This protocol seeks to describe the methods and processes used to develop CARE extensions for radiology.

Methods: We plan to extend the existing CARE guidelines to radiological case reports. We will follow the steps recommended by the Enhancing the QUAlity and Transparency Of health Research (EQUATOR) network to develop the CAse Report for Radiology (CARR) statement and checklist for the reporting of case reports. The working group will constitute a multidisciplinary international team of experts, including methodologists, content experts (radiologists and clinicians), journal editors, and possibly consumer representatives. We will discuss and generate a list of initial items based on the CARE statement. Two to three rounds of the Delphi survey will be administered and an online consensus meeting will be held to reach a consensus and develop the final CARR checklist. The full reporting guidelines should be finalized within 1.5 years.

Discussion: The annual number of published radiological case reports has increased over the past 20 years; however, the quality of reporting still needs to be improved. Our protocol envisages the process and methodology for the development of the CARR guidelines, which we anticipate will be available soon and will help radiology practitioners.

Trial registration: We have registered the protocol on the EQUATOR network (https://www.equator-network.org/library/reporting-guidelines-under-development/reporting-guidelines-under-development-for-observational-studies/#CARR).

Keywords: CARE; Reporting guideline; case report; radiology.