TRIPOD encompasses various initiatives including courses and extensions to alleviate the problems arising from inadequate reporting of prediction model studies in biomedical sciences.
About TRIPOD
TRIPOD resources include a 22-item checklist, background documents explaining the rationale behind each item, forms to measure a report’s adherence to TRIPOD, and (in the near) future extensions of TRIPOD.
The 22 items in the TRIPOD statement pertain to the content of the Title, Abstract, Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, and Other information. Simultaneously with the TRIPOD Statement and checklist, an Explanation and Elaboration (E&E) document was published, both in the Annals of Internal Medicine in 2015. The E&E document addresses and explains for each item the key (methodological) issues, along with examples of complete and transparent reporting. It is recommended that the TRIPOD Statement is read, and the checklist used in conjunction with the accompanying E&E document.
All TRIPOD information and documents are freely available from this website.
TRIPOD aims to improve the reporting of all types of prediction model studies (development, validation, updating or extending), regardless of the medical setting (e.g. public health, primary, secondary and tertiary care), the modeling techniques used (statistical or more modern machine learning or artificial intelligent techniques), and of the outcomes predicted and predictors used. The aim is to provide readers and end-users to better understand a prediction model study’s design, conduct, analysis and interpretation, and to better assess the validity, transportability and application of the prediction model. This can only be achieved through complete transparency from authors of the prediction model study.
TRIPOD was developed through collaboration of between many prediction research methodologists, healthcare practitioners, guideline developers, knowledge translation specialists, and journal editors.
The TRIPOD Statement
TRIPOD was published simultaneously in eleven journals, including the Annals of Internal Medicine, BJOG, BMC Medicine, British Medical Journal, British Journal of Cancer, British Journal of Surgery, Circulation, Diabetic Medicine, European Journal of Clinical Investigation, European Urology and Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, whilst the Explanation & Elaboration paper was published only in the Annals of Internal medicine.
Citing and Using TRIPOD
The TRIPOD Statement and the TRIPOD Explanation and Elaboration documents are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
As the guidelines represent a consensus agreed through successive drafts by the TRIPOD Group, they should not be edited or modified in any way. When referring to the TRIPOD guideline, please cite one of the original TRIPOD citations below:
- Gary S. Collins, Johannes B. Reitsma, Douglas G. Altman, Karel G.M. Moons; on behalf of the TRIPOD Group. Transparent Reporting of a multivariable prediction model for Individual Prognosis Or Diagnosis (TRIPOD): The TRIPOD Statement. Ann intern Med 2015; 162: 55-63.
- Karel G.M. Moons, Douglas G. Altman, Johannes B Reitsma, John P.A. Ioannidis, Petra Macaskill, Ewout W. Steyerberg, Andrew J. Vickers, David F. Ransohoff, Gary S. Collins; on behalf of the TRIPOD Group. Transparent Reporting of a multivariable prediction model for Individual Prognosis Or Diagnosis (TRIPOD): Explanation and Elaboration. Ann intern Med 2015; 162: W1-W73.
History
In medicine, patients with their care providers are confronted with making numerous decisions on the basis of an estimated risk or probability that a specific disease or condition is present (diagnostic setting) or a specific event will occur in the future (prognostic setting). In the diagnostic setting, the probability that a particular disease is present can be used, for example, to inform the referral of patients for further testing, initiate treatment directly or reassure patients that a serious cause for their complaints is unlikely.
In the prognostic setting, predictions can be used for planning lifestyle or therapeutic decisions based on the risk of developing a particular outcome or state of health within a specific time period.
Several reviews have evaluated the quality of published reports that describe the development or validation prediction models. These reviews have all concluded that the reporting is poor with insufficient information described in all aspects of model development and validation, from descriptions of patient data to statistical modelling methods. Only with full and clear reporting of information on all aspects of a prediction model can risk of bias and potential usefulness of prediction models be adequately assessed.
In June 2011, 24 experts comprised of statisticians, epidemiologists, methodologists, clinicians and medical journal editors met in Pembroke College, University of Oxford, United Kingdom with the aim of developing a new reporting statement to improve the reporting of studies reporting the development, validation or updating of a multivariable prediction model, whether for diagnostic or prognostic purposes. The meeting resulted in the Transparent Reporting of a multivariable prediction model for Individual Prognosis of Diagnosis (TRIPOD) Statement.
On January 6, 2015, eleven journals simultaneously published the TRIPOD Statement, and one journal published the TRIPOD Explanation & Elaboration paper.
Journals and Organizations
The following journals endorse or encourage the use of TRIPOD, e.g. in their instructions for authors.
PhysiotherapyPhysical Medicine and RehabilitationJournal of Orthopedic & Sports Physical TherapyJournal of Clinical OncologyJournal of Clinical EpidemiologyFamily PracticeEuropean UrologyDiabetic MedicineClinical Gastroenterology and HepatologyClinical ChemistryCirculationBritish Journal of SurgeryBritish Journal of DermatologyBritish Journal of CancerBMJBMC MedicineBMC Diagnostic & Prognostic ResearchBJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and GynaecologyAnnals of Internal MedicineAmerican Journal of Kidney DiseaseAdvances in Anatomic Pathology