ASSIST Tool and Surgical Randomized Controlled Trial Applicability
ASSIST Tool and Surgical Randomized Controlled Trial Applicability
Background: The ASSIST tool is a graphical tool to represent and evaluate the applicability
 of a surgery trial to improve the translation of research to practice.

 Objective: To evaluate the impact of the ASSIST tool on the interpretation of the
 applicability of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in the field of digestive cancer
 surgery.

 Design: This study is a randomized controlled trial with two parallel arms. Participants:
 Surgeons who contribute to the assessment of manuscripts as experts (peer-reviewer) for
 international scientific journals of surgery (Annals of Surgery, Archives of Surgery,
 Gastrointestinal Surgery World Journal of International Journal of Surgical Oncology).

 Intervention: Surgeons will be randomized into 2 groups. A group that will evaluate a case
 vignette (synopsis) of a randomized trial in surgery, and the other group that will evaluate
 the same case vignette with the representation of the external validity of the trial with
 ASSIST tool.

 Outcome measures: Participants will indicate on a numeric scale range from 1 to 10 if they
 feel able to judge the applicability of the trial for 1) patients, 2) centers, 3) surgeons
 and 4) intervention.

 Sample Size: 28 case vignettes with randomized trials and their ASSIST tool have been
 developed and evaluated. The inclusion of 130 participants (65 per arm) is required.
The study will be conducted in 2 steps:

 In a first step, investigators will develop cases vignettes of published RCTs evaluating
 surgical interventions in the field of digestive cancer with its representations of external
 validity according to ASSIST.

 In a second step, investigators will invite a panel of peer reviewers to appraise the
 external validity (applicability) of selected RCTs without and with the graphical tool
 (ASSIST), on a security web site.
Inclusion Criteria:

 -  surgeons

 -  who contribute to the assessment of manuscripts as experts (peer-reviewer) for
 international scientific journals of surgery (Annals of Surgery, Archives of Surgery,
 Gastrointestinal Surgery World Journal of International Journal of Surgical Oncology)

 Exclusion Criteria:

 -  No one