Helen Macdonald

Better reporting of interventions: template for intervention description and replication (TIDieR) checklist and guide

Without a complete published description of interventions, clinicians and patients cannot reliably implement interventions that are shown to be useful, and other researchers cannot replicate or build on research findings. The quality of description of interventions in publications, however, is remarkably poor. To improve the completeness of reporting, and ultimately the replicability, of interventions, an international group of experts and stakeholders developed the Template for Intervention Description and Replication (TIDieR) checklist and guide. The process involved a literature review for relevant checklists and research, a Delphi survey of an international panel of experts to guide item selection, and a face to face panel meeting. The resultant 12 item TIDieR checklist (brief name, why, what (materials), what (procedure), who provided, how, where, when and how much, tailoring, modifications, how well (planned), how well (actual)) is an extension of the CONSORT 2010 statement (item 5) and the SPIRIT 2013 statement (item 11). While the emphasis of the checklist is on trials, the guidance is intended to apply across all evaluative study designs. This paper presents the TIDieR checklist and guide, with an explanation and elaboration for each item, and examples of good reporting. The TIDieR checklist and guide should improve the reporting of interventions and make it easier for authors to structure accounts of their interventions, reviewers and editors to assess the descriptions, and readers to use the information.

Arthroscopic surgery for degenerative knee arthritis and meniscal tears: a clinical practice guideline

#### What you need to know What is the role of arthroscopic surgery in degenerative knee disease? An expert panel produced these recommendations based on a linked systematic review triggered by a randomised trial published in The BMJ in June 2016, which found that, among patients with a degenerative medial meniscus tear, knee arthroscopy was no better than exercise therapy. The panel make a strong recommendation against arthroscopy for degenerative knee disease. Box 1 shows all of the articles and evidence linked in this Rapid Recommendation package. The infographic provides an overview of the absolute benefits and harms of arthroscopy in standard GRADE format. Table 2 below shows any evidence that has emerged since the publication of this article. #### Box 1: Linked articles in this BMJ Rapid Recommendations cluster

Introduction to BMJ Rapid Recommendations

New BMJ collaboration accelerates evidence into practice to answer the questions that matter quickly and transparently through trustworthy recommendations

Use of Medroxyprogesterone Acetate as a Contraceptive in conjunction with Early Postpartum Rubella Vaccination

During a 12-month period 170 women received early postpartum rubella vaccination. An injectable “depot” progestogen was given to each of these patients for contraceptive purposes at the same time as the vaccine was administered. Subsequent observations showed that the progestogen was effective as a contraceptive in this context and that it did not appear to affect the immune response of the patients to the vaccine.

Evidence based medicine manifesto for better healthcare

A response to systematic bias, wastage, error, and fraud in research underpinning patient care

Too much medicine: the challenge of finding common ground

Imprecise terminology and lack of evidence based solutions are hampering progress

UK drug agency announces review of use of alteplase after stroke

The UK Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency has announced it is to review the “balance of benefits and risks” of the use of alteplase in the treatment of acute ischaemic stroke. In a letter published in the Lancet on 23 August,1 Ian Hudson, chief executive of the MHRA, announced that the agency was setting up a panel of experts to review “any new information or concerns about the data that underpin the present marketing authorisation” for the drug, but he added that the data supporting alteplase use had been “extensively discussed” and that the “benefit-risk balance is favourable.” The MHRA’s announcement was prompted by concerns raised by Roger Shinton, a former consultant physician at Birmingham’s Heartlands Hospital in another letter in the same issue of the Lancet.2 Alteplase, a thrombolytic drug, is licensed in Europe for the management of acute ischaemic stroke within four and a half hours of onset of symptoms and in the United States for use within three hours. In his letter Shinton highlighted several concerns with the initial trial used to obtain marketing approval for alteplase3 and a subsequent trial that was key to extending its window of use in Europe from three to four and a half hours.4 In the first trial, called the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) trial, participants were randomised to …

Prostate cancer screening with prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test: a clinical practice guideline.

### What you need to know What is the role of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening in prostate cancer? An expert panel produced these recommendations based on a linked systematic review.1 The review was triggered by a large scale, cluster randomised trial on PSA screening in men without a previous diagnosis of prostate cancer published in 2018 (box 1).2 It found no difference between one-time PSA screening and standard practice in prostate cancer mortality but found an increase in the detection of low risk prostate cancer after a median follow-up of 10 years. Box 1 ### Results of the CAP Randomized Clinical Trial2 This cluster-randomised trial of 419 582 British men was published in March 2018. After a median follow-up of 10 years, there was no significant difference in prostate cancer-specific mortality in men receiving care by general practices randomised to a single PSA screening intervention compared with men receiving care … RETURN TO TEXT

Long road to recovery

The UK government has recently announced proposals to improve care for seriously injured serving soldiers and veterans. Helen Macdonald looks at the challenges of rehabilitation

Cocaine use in England and Wales rises as cannabis use falls

The number of people using cocaine in England and Wales rose last year, although fewer people used cannabis, the latest figures show. The data from the NHS Information Centre, published this week, are set against an overall decline in drug misuse over recent years. The figures show that in 2006-7 2.6% of adults reported taking cocaine, an estimated 835 000 people. This is an increase of 0.2% from the previous year and a 2% rise since 1996. However, the use of cannabis continues to fall. It reached a …