To assess unmet needs related to lymphoedema we sent the LNQ-BC to women in whom the arm circumference, on the side of surgery, was 2 cm or more larger than the circumference on the other arm at any of the five standardised points.
Trial protocols with standardised diagnostic methods, time points of follow-up and efficacy outcomes would enable us to combine trials in meta-analysis and to reduce heterogeneity between trials.
The lack of standardised methodology on test evaluation, including the use of different reference standards, is a barrier to assessing relative assay performance and could hinder the introduction of new point-of-care assays in countries where they are most needed.
In contrast, this study had a relatively narrow window in which samples were formalin-fixed and had a standardised and centralised point of DNA extraction and sequencing.
The mean, median, standardised deviation, and range of duration between the time points of performing the HADS and blood sampling of all subjects were 3.6, 2.0, 5.0, and 0 33 days, respectively.
Weight was measured using the same standardised mechanical column beam balance scales (Seca) at the three time points of testing.
This trial employed a combined Western and Traditional Chinese Medicine style of acupuncture, utilizing standardised acupuncture points.
In the present study, the durations of all subjects between the time points of performing the HADS and blood sampling had a mean value of 3.6 days and standardised deviation of 5.0 days, and those of 95% of all subjects were under 15 days.
The number of units, an increased response rate due to the flexibility of the design and the random nature of admissions to neonatal units are likely to have outweighed the potential for bias introduced by the lack of a standardised time point for the start of data collection.
From a strictly scientific point of view, standardised interventions are needed so that the findings of a trial can be reproduced independently.
