Original Articles

New Prognostic Markers for Outcome of Acute Pancreatitis

Overview of Reporting in 184 Studies

Sigounas, Dimitrios E. MD^*; Tatsioni, Athina MD, PhD^†‡; Christodoulou, Dimitrios K. MD, PhD^*; Tsianos, Epameinondas V. MD, PhD^*; Ioannidis, John P. A. MD, PhD^‡§∥¶#

Author Information

From the *1st Department of Internal Medicine & Hepato-Gastroenterology Unit, and †Department of Internal Medicine, University of Ioannina School of Medicine, Ioannina, Greece; ‡Department of Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine, and Institute for Clinical Research and Health Policy Studies, Tufts Medical Center, Boston, MA; §Clinical Trials and Evidence-Based Medicine Unit, Department of Hygiene and Epidemiology, University of Ioannina School of Medicine; ∥Biomedical Research Institute, Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas, Ioannina, Greece; ¶Department of Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA; and #Stanford Prevention Research Center, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA.

Received for publication May 11, 2010; accepted December 16, 2010.

Reprints: John P. A. Ioannidis, MD, PhD, Department of Hygiene and Epidemiology, University of Ioannina School of Medicine, Ioannina 45110, Greece (e-mail: [email protected]).

No financial support was received for this study.

Supplemental digital contents are available for this article. Direct URL citations appear in the printed text and are provided in the HTML and PDF versions of this article on the journal's Web site (www.pancreasjournal.com).

Pancreas 40(4):p 522-532, May 2011. | DOI: 10.1097/MPA.0b013e31820bf8ac

Abstract

Objectives:

The objective of this study was to assess the reporting of studies on new prognostic markers of outcome in acute pancreatitis.

Methods:

We used MEDLINE searches complemented with perusal of review articles' references to identify eligible English-language studies. We included studies evaluating nonroutine markers for acute pancreatitis. Eligible outcomes included Atlanta criteria, Japanese criteria for severity, multiple/single organ failure, complications, interventional treatment, hospitalization length, and death. We generated a 47-item checklist on Acute Pancreatitis Prognosis by adapting a previously constructed reporting guidance instrument for prognostic tumor markers (REMARK [Reporting Recommendations for Tumor Marker Prognostic Studies]). The checklist addresses the reporting of essential information in prognostic studies.

Results:

The 184 identified eligible studies reported on 196 different prognostic markers. One hundred forty-four studies (78.3%) found at least 1 prognostic marker to be nominally statistically significant. Significant improvements over time were seen in the reporting for 17 items, but major deficiencies were noted even in 2004-2009 studies. Particularly, 12 items were reported in less than 10% of studies overall and even within the most recent studies.

Conclusions:

Despite some improvements over time, the reporting of important aspects of prognostic studies in acute pancreatitis remains suboptimal. The proposed REMARK-based checklist may help improve the quality and reporting of research in this field.

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New Prognostic Markers for Outcome of Acute Pancreatitis

Overview of Reporting in 184 Studies