Statistical and data reporting guidelines for the European Journal of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery and the Interactive CardioVascular and Thoracic Surgery

Abstract

As part of the peer review process for the European Journal of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery (EJCTS) and the Interactive CardioVascular and Thoracic Surgery (ICVTS), a statistician reviews any manuscript that includes a statistical analysis. To facilitate authors considering submitting a manuscript and to make it clearer about the expectations of the statistical reviewers, we present up-to-date guidelines for authors on statistical and data reporting specifically in these journals. The number of statistical methods used in the cardiothoracic literature is vast, as are the ways in which data are presented. Therefore, we narrow the scope of these guidelines to cover the most common applications submitted to the EJCTS and ICVTS, focusing in particular on those that the statistical reviewers most frequently comment on.