STARD 2015: An Updated List of Essential Items for Reporting Diagnostic Accuracy Studies

TLDR

Incomplete reporting in biomedical research creates avoidable waste by omitting essential information that hinders study appraisal and replication. The STARD statement was developed to enhance the quality of reporting in diagnostic accuracy studies. STARD 2015 updates the original list to 30 essential items, incorporating recent evidence on bias and variability to guide researchers. Adoption of STARD 2015 is expected to improve the completeness and transparency of diagnostic accuracy study reports.

Abstract

Incomplete reporting has been identified as a major source of avoidable waste in biomedical research. Essential information is often not provided in study reports, impeding the identification, critical appraisal, and replication of studies. To improve the quality of reporting of diagnostic accuracy studies, the Standards for Reporting of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies (STARD) statement was developed. Here we present STARD 2015, an updated list of 30 essential items that should be included in every report of a diagnostic accuracy study. This update incorporates recent evidence about sources of bias and variability in diagnostic accuracy and is intended to facilitate the use of STARD. As such, STARD 2015 may help to improve completeness and transparency in reporting of diagnostic accuracy studies.