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

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)