Eur J Anat, 22 (1): 85-87 (2018)

Spanish Translation of the Anatomical Quality Assurance (AQUA) Checklist: new guidelines for reporting in original anatomical studies

Brandon Michael Henry^1,2, Jordan Rodriguez³, Mario Flores³, Claire Michèle Lenouvel^1,2, Jens Vikse^1,2, Przemysław Pękala^1,2, Beatrice Sanna^1,6, Marios Loukas⁴, R. Shane Tubbs⁵, Jerzy A. Walocha^1,2, Krzysztof A. Tomaszewski^1,2

¹International Evidence-Based Anatomy Working Group, Krakow, Poland, ²Department of Anatomy, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Krakow, Poland, ³Faculty of Medicine, National Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico, ⁴Department of Anatomical Sciences, St. Georgeâ??s University, Grenada, ⁵Seattle Science Foundation, Seattle, Washington, 6Faculty of Medicine, University of Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy

ABSTRACT Clear reporting of original studies is an integral part of evidence-based principles, which the basic sciences, including anatomy, have only recently begun to adapt to. Evidence-based anatomy (EBA), is a developing field of anatomical research which employs evidence-based methods such as meta-analyses, systematic reviews, and high-quality original studies. However, there is a lack of standardized reporting checklist within anatomical research, and the Anatomical Quality Assurance (AQUA) Checklist was developed to account for this deficit. The AQUA Checklist serves to guide authors in clear reporting of original anatomical studies and is endorsed by the Federative International Committee for Scientific Publications (FICSP). To assure high quality, comprehensive and unambiguous description of methodology and results, the checklist consists of 29 reporting items that should be addressed by authors of original anatomical studies. The AQUA Checklist has been translated into the Spanish language to remove any language barriers and to allow utilization and reproducibility of Spanish anatomical research. Conforming to the reporting items of the AQUA Checklist will help elevate the standards of future original anatomical research and raise the quality of anatomical studies published in Spanish journals.

Keywords: Clinical anatomy â?? Evidence-based anatomy â?? Quality assurance â?? Checklist â?? Reporting guidelines â?? Methodology