CONSORT and QUOROM guidelines for reporting randomized clinical trials and systematic reviews

Abstract

As practitioners strive to improve the delivery of patient care, it is increasingly important that they find it easier to identify studies with the highest level of evidence. Once found, there must be some assurance that the studies were carried out satisfactorily and the methodology was sound. To assist in meeting this challenge, the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) guidelines were developed by a team of dedicated journal editors, epidemiologists, and statisticians. They determined the standards for authors reporting the findings of controlled clinical trials. 1 Newcombe R.G. Reporting of clinical trials in the JO—the CONSORT guidelines. J Orthod. 2000; 27: 69-70 Crossref PubMed Scopus (10) Google Scholar CONSORT comprises a checklist and a flow diagram (Fig 1, Fig 2) to help improve the quality of reports of randomized controlled trials (RCTs). It offers a standard way for researchers to report their findings. The checklist includes items, based on evidence, that should be addressed in the report; the flow diagram gives readers a clear picture of the progress of all participants in the trial, from the time they are randomized until the end of their involvement. The intent is to make the experimental process transparent, flawed or not, so that users of the data can more appropriately evaluate the validity for their purposes. The key elements start when the researcher submits an article for review and completes the standardized forms. The completed checklist should accompany the manuscript through the review process and identify the page on which each item is addressed. The completed flow diagram should appear as a figure in the manuscript.