Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology for Newborn Infection (STROBE-NI) : an extension of the STROBE statement for neonatal infection research

Reporting guideline provided for? (i.e. exactly what the authors state in the paper)

Reporting of neonatal infection studies.

Full bibliographic reference

Fitchett EJA, Seale AC, Vergnano S, Sharland M, Heath PT, Saha SK, Agarwal R, Ayede AI, Bhutta ZA, Black R, Bojang K, Campbell H, Cousens S, Darmstadt GL, Madhi SA, Meulen AS, Modi N, Patterson J, Qazi S, Schrag SJ, Stoll BJ, Wall SN, Wammanda RD, Lawn JE, on behalf of the SPRING (Strengthening Publications Reporting Infection in Newborns Globally) Group. Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology for Newborn Infection (STROBE-NI): an extension of the STROBE statement for neonatal infection research. Lancet Infect Dis. 2016;16(10):e202-13.

Language

English

PubMed ID

Relevant more generic / specialised reporting guidelines (i.e. main generic guideline or extension to a generic guideline)

Generic

STROBE: von Elm E, Altman DG, Egger M, Pocock SJ, Gotzsche PC, Vandenbroucke JP. The Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) Statement: guidelines for reporting observational studies.

Ann Intern Med. 2007;147(8):573-577. PMID: 17938396

PLoS Med. 2007;4(10):e296. PMID: 17941714

BMJ. 2007;335(7624):806-808. PMID: 17947786

Prev Med. 2007;45(4):247-251. PMID: 17950122

Epidemiology. 2007;18(6):800-804. PMID: 18049194

Lancet. 2007;370(9596):1453-1457. PMID: 18064739

Specialised

STREGA: Little J, Higgins JP, Ioannidis JP, Moher D, Gagnon F, von Elm E, Khoury MJ, Cohen B, Davey-Smith G, Grimshaw J, Scheet P, Gwinn M, Williamson RE, Zou GY, Hutchings K, Johnson CY, Tait V, Wiens M, Golding J, van Duijn C, McLaughlin J, Paterson A, Wells G, Fortier I, Freedman M, Zecevic M, King R, Infante-Rivard C, Stewart A, Birkett N; STrengthening the REporting of Genetic Association Studies. STrengthening the REporting of Genetic Association Studies (STREGA): An Extension of the STROBE Statement.

PLoS Med. 2009;6(2):e22. PMID: 19192942

Hum Genet. 2009;125(2):131-151. PMID: 19184668

Eur J Epidemiol. 2009;24(1):37-55. PMID: 19189221

Ann Intern Med. 2009;150(3):206-215. PMID: 19189911

J Clin Epidemiol. 2009;62(6):597-608.e4. PMID: 19217256

Genet Epidemiol. 2009;33(7):581-598. PMID: 19278015

Eur J Clin Invest. 2009;39(4):247-266. PMID: 19297801

STROBE-ME: Gallo V, Egger M, McCormack V, Farmer PB, Ioannidis JP, Kirsch-Volders M, Matullo G, Phillips DH, Schoket B, Stromberg U, Vermeulen R, Wild C, Porta M, Vineis P. STrengthening the Reporting of OBservational studies in Epidemiology - Molecular Epidemiology (STROBE-ME): An extension of the STROBE statement. Eur J Clin Invest. 2012;42(1):1-16. PMID: 22023344

STROBE checklist for conference abstracts

First draft of the STROBE checklist of items to be included when reporting observational studies in conference abstracts. Link to full text pdf

STROME-ID: Field N, Cohen T, Struelens MJ, Palm D, Cookson B, Glynn JR, Gallo V, Ramsay M, Sonnenberg P, Maccannell D, Charlett A, Egger M, Green J, Vineis P, Abubakar I. Strengthening the Reporting of Molecular Epidemiology for Infectious Diseases (STROME-ID): an extension of the STROBE statement. Lancet Infect Dis. 2014. pii: S1473-3099(13)70324-4. doi: 10.1016/S1473-3099(13)70324-4. PMID: 24631223

Longitudinal observational drug studies in rheumatology: Zavada J, Dixon WG, Askling J. Launch of a checklist for reporting longitudinal observational drug studies in rheumatology: a EULAR extension of STROBE guidelines based on experience from biologics registries. Ann Rheum Dis. 2014;73(3):628. PMID: 24058015

Case-cohort studies: Sharp SJ, Poulaliou M, Thompson SG, White IR, Wood AM. A review of published analyses of case-cohort studies and recommendations for future reporting. PLoS One. 2014;9(6):e101176. PMID: 24972092

STROBE-RDS: White RG, Hakim AJ, Salganik MJ, Spiller MW, Johnston LG, Kerr L, Kendall C, Drake A, Wilson D, Orroth K, Egger M, Hladik W. Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology for respondent-driven sampling studies: “STROBE-RDS” statement. J Clin Epidemiol. 2015 May 1. PMID: 26112433

RECORD: Benchimol EI, Smeeth L, Guttmann A, Harron K, Moher D, Petersen I, Sørensen HT, von Elm E, Langan SM; RECORD Working Committee. The REporting of studies Conducted using Observational Routinely-collected health Data (RECORD) Statement. PLoS Med. 2015;12(10):e1001885. PMID: 26440803

STROBE-AMS: Tacconelli E, Cataldo MA, Paul M, Leibovici L, Kluytmans J, Schröder W, Foschi F, De Angelis G, De Waure C, Cadeddu C, Mutters NT, Gastmeier P, Cookson B. STROBE-AMS: recommendations to optimise reporting of epidemiological studies on antimicrobial resistance and informing improvement in antimicrobial stewardship. BMJ Open. 2016;6(2):e010134. PMID: 26895985

STROBE-nut: Lachat C, Hawwash D, Ocké MC, Berg C, Forsum E, Hörnell A, Larsson C, Sonestedt E, Wirfält E, Åkesson A, Kolsteren P, Byrnes G, De Keyzer W, Van Camp J, Cade JE, Slimani N, Cevallos M, Egger M, Huybrechts I. Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology—Nutritional Epidemiology (STROBE-nut): An Extension of the STROBE Statement. PLoS Med; 2016:13(6):e1002036. PMID: 27270749

Simulation Research: Cheng A, Kessler D, Mackinnon R, Chang TP, Nadkarni VM, Hunt EA, Duval-Arnould J, Lin Y, Cook DA, Pusic M, Hui J, Moher D, Egger M, Auerbach M; International Network for Simulation-based Pediatric Innovation, Research, and Education (INSPIRE) Reporting Guidelines Investigators. Reporting Guidelines for Health Care Simulation Research: Extensions to the CONSORT and STROBE Statements. Simul Healthc. 2016;11(4):238-248. PMID: 27465839

ROSES-I: Horby PW, Laurie KL, Cowling BJ, Engelhardt OG, Sturm-Ramirez K, Sanchez JL, Katz JM, Uyeki TM, Wood J, Van Kerkhove MD; CONSISE Steering Committee. CONSISE statement on the reporting of Seroepidemiologic Studies for influenza (ROSES-I statement): an extension of the STROBE statement. Influenza Other Respir Viruses. 2016 Jul 15. PMID: 27417916

Propensity score analysis: Yao XI, Wang X, Speicher PJ, Hwang ES, Cheng P, Harpole DH, Berry MF, Schrag D, Pang HH. Reporting and Guidelines in Propensity Score Analysis: A Systematic Review of Cancer and Cancer Surgical Studies. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2017;109(8). PMID: 28376195

RECORD-PE: Langan SM, Schmidt SAJ, Wing K, Ehrenstein V, Nicholls SG, Filion KB, Klungel O, Petersen I, Sorensen HT, Dixon WG, Guttmann A, Harron K, Hemkens LG, Moher D, Schneeweiss S, Smeeth L, Sturkenboom M, von Elm E, Wang SV, Benchimol EI. The reporting of studies conducted using observational routinely collected health data statement for pharmacoepidemiology (RECORD-PE). BMJ 2018;363:k3532.

STROBE-SIIS: International Olympic Committee Injury and Illness Epidemiology Consensus Group, Bahr R, Clarsen B, Derman W, Dvorak J, Emery CA, Finch CF, Hägglund M, Junge A, Kemp S, Khan KM, Marshall SW, Meeuwisse W, Mountjoy M, Orchard JW, Pluim B, Quarrie KL, Reider B, Schwellnus M, Soligard T, Stokes KA, Timpka T, Verhagen E, Bindra A, Budgett R, Engebretsen L, Erdener U, Chamari K. International Olympic Committee Consensus Statement: Methods for Recording and Reporting of Epidemiological Data on Injury and Illness in Sports 2020 (Including the STROBE Extension for Sports Injury and Illness Surveillance (STROBE-SIIS)).

Br J Sports Med. 2020;54(7):372-389. PMID: 32071062

Orthop J Sports Med. 2020;8(2):2325967120902908. PMID: 32118084

STROBE-MR: Skrivankova VW, Richmond RC, Woolf BAR, Yarmolinsky J, Davies NM, Swanson SA, VanderWeele TJ, Higgins JPT, Timpson NJ, Dimou N, Langenberg C, Golub RM, Loder EW, Gallo V, Tybjaerg-Hansen A, Davey Smith G, Egger M, Richards JB. Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology Using Mendelian Randomization: The STROBE-MR Statement. JAMA. 2021;326(16):1614-1621. PMID: 34698778

Reporting guideline acronym

STROBE-NI

Study design

Observational studies

Clinical area

Infectious diseases, Obstetrics and gynaecology, Paediatrics

Applies to the whole report or to individual sections of the report?

Ethical issues (consent etc.), Narrative sections (discussion etc.), Procedure/Method, Results

Record last updated on

November 25, 2021

Training

The UK EQUATOR Centre runs training on how to write using reporting guidelines.

Reporting Guidelines are recommendations to help describe your work clearly

Your research will be used by people from different disciplines and backgrounds for decades to come. Reporting guidelines list the information you should describe so that everyone can understand, replicate, and synthesise your work.

Reporting guidelines do not prescribe how research should be designed or conducted. Rather, they help authors transparently describe what they did, why they did it, and what they found.

Reporting guidelines make writing research easier, and transparent research leads to better patient outcomes.

Easier writing

Following guidance makes writing easier and quicker.

Smoother publishing

Many journals require completed reporting checklists at submission.

Maximum impact

From nobel prizes to null results, articles have more impact when everyone can use them.

Who reads research?

You work will be read by different people, for different reasons, around the world, and for decades to come. Reporting guidelines help you consider all of your potential audiences. For example, your research may be read by researchers from different fields, by clinicians, patients, evidence synthesisers, peer reviewers, or editors. Your readers will need information to understand, to replicate, apply, appraise, synthesise, and use your work.

Cohort studies

A cohort study is an observational study in which a group of people with a particular exposure (e.g. a putative risk factor or protective factor) and a group of people without this exposure are followed over time. The outcomes of the people in the exposed group are compared to the outcomes of the people in the unexposed group to see if the exposure is associated with particular outcomes (e.g. getting cancer or length of life).

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Case-control studies

A case-control study is a research method used in healthcare to investigate potential risk factors for a specific disease. It involves comparing individuals who have been diagnosed with the disease (cases) to those who have not (controls). By analysing the differences between the two groups, researchers can identify factors that may contribute to the development of the disease.

An example would be when researchers conducted a case-control study examining whether exposure to diesel exhaust particles increases the risk of respiratory disease in underground miners. Cases included miners diagnosed with respiratory disease, while controls were miners without respiratory disease. Participants' past occupational exposures to diesel exhaust particles were evaluated to compare exposure rates between cases and controls.

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Cross-sectional studies

A cross-sectional study (also sometimes called a "cross-sectional survey") serves as an observational tool, where researchers capture data from a cohort of participants at a singular point. This approach provides a 'snapshot'— a brief glimpse into the characteristics or outcomes prevalent within a designated population at that precise point in time. The primary aim here is not to track changes or developments over an extended period but to assess and quantify the current situation regarding specific variables or conditions. Such a methodology is instrumental in identifying patterns or correlations among various factors within the population, providing a basis for further, more detailed investigation.

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Systematic reviews

A systematic review is a comprehensive approach designed to identify, evaluate, and synthesise all available evidence relevant to a specific research question. In essence, it collects all possible studies related to a given topic and design, and reviews and analyses their results.

The process involves a highly sensitive search strategy to ensure that as much pertinent information as possible is gathered. Once collected, this evidence is often critically appraised to assess its quality and relevance, ensuring that conclusions drawn are based on robust data. Systematic reviews often involve defining inclusion and exclusion criteria, which help to focus the analysis on the most relevant studies, ultimately synthesising the findings into a coherent narrative or statistical synthesis. Some systematic reviews will include a [meta-analysis]{.defined data-bs-toggle="offcanvas" href="#glossaryItemmeta_analyses" aria-controls="offcanvasExample" role="button"}.

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Systematic review protocols

TODO

Meta analyses of Observational Studies

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Randomised Trials

A randomised controlled trial (RCT) is a trial in which participants are randomly assigned to one of two or more groups: the experimental group or groups receive the intervention or interventions being tested; the comparison group (control group) receive usual care or no treatment or a placebo. The groups are then followed up to see if there are any differences between the results. This helps in assessing the effectiveness of the intervention.

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Randomised Trial Protocols

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Qualitative research

Research that aims to gather and analyse non-numerical (descriptive) data in order to gain an understanding of individuals' social reality, including understanding their attitudes, beliefs, and motivation. This type of research typically involves in-depth interviews, focus groups, or field observations in order to collect data that is rich in detail and context. Qualitative research is often used to explore complex phenomena or to gain insight into people's experiences and perspectives on a particular topic. It is particularly useful when researchers want to understand the meaning that people attach to their experiences or when they want to uncover the underlying reasons for people's behaviour. Qualitative methods include ethnography, grounded theory, discourse analysis, and interpretative phenomenological analysis.

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Case Reports

TODO

Diagnostic Test Accuracy Studies

Diagnostic accuracy studies focus on estimating the ability of the test(s) to correctly identify people with a predefined target condition, or the condition of interest (sensitivity) as well as to clearly identify those without the condition (specificity).

Prediction Models

Prediction model research is used to test the accurarcy of a model or test in estimating an outcome value or risk. Most models estimate the probability of the presence of a particular health condition (diagnostic) or whether a particular outcome will occur in the future (prognostic). Prediction models are used to support clinical decision making, such as whether to refer patients for further testing, monitor disease deterioration or treatment effects, or initiate treatment or lifestyle changes. Examples of well known prediction models include EuroSCORE II for cardiac surgery, the Gail model for breast cancer, the Framingham risk score for cardiovascular disease, IMPACT for traumatic brain injury, and FRAX for osteoporotic and hip fractures.

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Animal Research

TODO

Quality Improvement in Healthcare

Quality improvement research is about finding out how to improve and make changes in the most effective way. It is about systematically and rigourously exploring "what works" to improve quality in healthcare and the best ways to measure and disseminate this to ensure positive change. Most quality improvement effectiveness research is conducted in hospital settings, is focused on multiple quality improvement interventions, and uses process measures as outcomes. There is a great deal of variation in the research designs used to examine quality improvement effectiveness.

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Economic Evaluations in Healthcare

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Meta Analyses

A meta-analysis is a statistical technique that amalgamates data from multiple studies to yield a single estimate of the effect size. This approach enhances precision and offers a more comprehensive understanding by integrating quantitative findings. Central to a meta-analysis is the evaluation of heterogeneity, which examines variations in study outcomes to ensure that differences in populations, interventions, or methodologies do not skew results. Techniques such as meta-regression or subgroup analysis are frequently employed to explore how various factors might influence the outcomes. This method is particularly effective when aiming to quantify the effect size, odds ratio, or risk ratio, providing a clearer numerical estimate that can significantly inform clinical or policy decisions.

How Meta-analyses and Systematic Reviews Work Together

Systematic reviews and meta-analyses function together, each complementing the other to provide a more robust understanding of research evidence. A systematic review meticulously gathers and evaluates all pertinent studies, establishing a solid foundation of qualitative and quantitative data. Within this framework, if the collected data exhibit sufficient homogeneity, a meta-analysis can be performed. This statistical synthesis allows for the integration of quantitative results from individual studies, producing a unified estimate of effect size. Techniques such as meta-regression or subgroup analysis may further refine these findings, elucidating how different variables impact the overall outcome. By combining these methodologies, researchers can achieve both a comprehensive narrative synthesis and a precise quantitative measure, enhancing the reliability and applicability of their conclusions. This integrated approach ensures that the findings are not only well-rounded but also statistically robust, providing greater confidence in the evidence base.

Why Don't All Systematic Reviews Use a Meta-Analysis?

Systematic reviews do not always have meta-analyses, due to variations in the data. For a meta-analysis to be viable, the data from different studies must be sufficiently similar, or homogeneous, in terms of design, population, and interventions. When the data shows significant heterogeneity, meaning there are considerable differences among the studies, combining them could lead to skewed or misleading conclusions. Furthermore, the quality of the included studies is critical; if the studies are of low methodological quality, merging their results could obscure true effects rather than explain them.

Protocol

A plan or set of steps that defines how something will be done. Before carrying out a research study, for example, the research protocol sets out what question is to be answered and how information will be collected and analysed.

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