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Table 2 The final AQUILA checklist for use by authors

From: AQUILA: assessment of quality in lower limb arthroplasty. An expert Delphi consensus for total knee and total hip arthroplasty

Reportinbg Quality Item

   1. Are the inclusion and exclusion criteria clearly reported?

   2. Is information regarding the number of patients who did not gave informed consent and who were not willing to participate adequately reported?

   3. Are the baseline characteristics of included patients reported?

   4. Is the surgical technique adequately reported?

   5. Are the prosthesis brand and fixation reported with enough detail?

   6. Are the reasons or definitions for revision adequately reported?

   7. Are the number of revisions (N) and revision rates regarding aseptic loosening (either Kaplan-Meier or life table or revisions per 100 observed component years) adequately reported?

   8. Is the number of deaths, lost-to-follow up (e.g. no show at clinic or emigration), amputations, and revisions other than the primary endpoint adequately reported?

Methodological Quality Item

   1. Is there a clear primary research question/hypothesis?*

   2. How were the cohorts constructed?

a. Consecutivelya

b. Non-consecutively

c. Unknown

   3. How adequate was the follow-up (FU)?

a. Fully completed FU

b. 5% or less lost-to-FU or FU quotientb is 1 or less

c. More than 5% lost-to-FU or FU quotient is more than 1

d. Unknown

   4. How was the FU performed?

a. Predefined e.g. yearly

b. When patients had complaints or chart review (of non-predefined FU)

c. Unknown

   5. How many arthroplasties are at risk at the FU of interest?

a. 20 or more

b. Less than 20

b. Unknown

   6. Has a worst case analysis or competing risk analysis for competing endpoints [14] been performed?

  1. * In cases of aseptic loosening: Does the research question or hypothesis include revision of the component due to aseptic loosening?
  2. a Consecutively is defined as all patients receiving an arthroplasty (TKA or THA) in a defined period of time have also received the arthroplasty of interest. The following situation is therefore non-consecutive: patients receiving prosthesis X while prosthesis Y has also been used for the same indication during the specified period.
  3. b FU quotient = Number lost to follow up/Number of failures [26].
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BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders

ISSN: 1471-2474

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