TABLE III.

Criteria Used for the Modified Coleman Methodology Score

Section	Number or Factor	Score
Part A*
1. Study size: no. of subjects (no.)	>60	10
	41-60	7
	20-40	4
	<20 or not stated	0
2. Mean follow-up (mo)	>24	5
	12-24	2
	<12, not stated, or unclear	0
3. No. of different surgical procedures included in each reported outcome	1 surgical procedure only	10
	More than 1 surgical procedure, but >90% of subjects undergoing the 1 procedure	7
	Not stated, unclear, or <90% of subjects undergoing the 1 procedure	0
4. Type of study	Randomized controlled trial	15
	Prospective cohort study	10
	Retrospective cohort study	0
5. Diagnostic certainty	In all	5
	In ≥80%	3
	In <80%, not stated, or unclear	0
6. Description of surgical procedure	Adequate (technique stated and necessary details of that type of procedure given)	10
	Fair (technique only stated without elaboration)	5
	Inadequate, not stated, or unclear	0
7. Description of postoperative rehabilitation	Well described with >80% of patients complying	5
	Well described with 60-80% of patients complying	3
	Not well described	0
Part B†
1. Outcome criteria	Outcome measures clearly defined	2
	Timing of outcome assessment clearly stated (e.g., at best outcome after surgery or at the time of follow-up)	2
	Use of outcome criteria that have reported good reliability	3
	Use of outcome with good sensitivity	3
2. Procedure for assessing outcomes	Subjects recruited (results not taken from surgeon’s files)	5
	Investigator independent of surgeon	4
	Written assessment	3
3. Description of subject selection process	Selection criteria reported and unbiased	5
	Recruitment rate reported >80%	5
	Eligible subjects not included in the study satisfactorily accounted for or 100% recruitment	5

^*Only 1 score to be given for each of the 7 sections.

^†Scores may be given for each option in each of the 3 sections if applicable.