SPIRIT 2013 Statement: Defining Standard Protocol Items for Clinical Trials
2013/02/05 by An-Wen Chan, An‐Wen Chan, Jennifer Tetzlaff +21 · 8,055 citations
Decision Sciences · Economics, Econometrics and Finance · Mathematics · Medicine · #Alternative medicine #Clinical trial #Health Systems, Economic Evaluations, Quality of Life #Internal medicine #Law #Medical physics #Medicine #Meta-analysis and systematic reviews #Pathology #Protocol (science) #Statement (logic) #Statistical Methods in Clinical Trials
paper · open access · doi:10.7326/0003-4819-158-3-201302050-00583
published in Annals of Internal Medicine 158(3), 200-207 (American College of Physicians)
openalex publication_date 2013/02/05 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
Abstract
The protocol of a clinical trial serves as the foundation for study planning, conduct, reporting, and appraisal. However, trial protocols and existing protocol guidelines vary greatly in content and quality. This article describes the systematic development and scope of SPIRIT (Standard Protocol Items: Recommendations for Interventional Trials) 2013, a guideline for the minimum content of a clinical trial protocol.The 33-item SPIRIT checklist applies to protocols for all clinical trials and focuses on content rather than format. The checklist recommends a full description of what is planned; it does not prescribe how to design or conduct a trial. By providing guidance for key content, the SPIRIT recommendations aim to facilitate the drafting of high-quality protocols. Adherence to SPIRIT would also enhance the transparency and completeness of trial protocols for the benefit of investigators, trial participants, patients, sponsors, funders, research ethics committees or institutional review boards, peer reviewers, journals, trial registries, policymakers, regulators, and other key stakeholders.
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