Instructions
We have developed a simple and user friendly electronic Case Report Form (CRF) to ensure secure, easy and accurate data collection obtained from the members of the participating centers.
After visiting our online platform, https://esoBenchmark.org please:
Apply for participation by completing the electronic form as shown below:
Click on the participation icon or follow the link: https://esobenchmark.org/participation
b. You will be asked to complete the electronic participation form shown below including your personal and professional details, as well as the number of esophagectomies performed and the number of surgeons performed esophagectomies at your institution in the year 2015. This information is very important to this study:
After having completed all fields, please click on the “Apply for participation” button as shown below:
As soon as we receive your application form we will create your login and account details and send them to you by email. This may take 4 to 24 hours. Please keep an eye on your inbox, the email will be sent from our study coordinator, Dr Henner Schmidt (Henner.Schmidt@usz.ch).
After you receive our email, please login to our website (https://esoBenchmark.org) to access all necessary study documents and submit your cases online. To do so, type in your username and password (case sensitive) that was provided to you through our “Member Login” section available on the right sidebar of our website (see image below) or simply use the following link: https://esoBenchmark.org/user
Please ensure that you have carefully read the study protocol before attempting entering cases at our electronic Case Report Form (CRF). To do so, please click on the “Protocol” icon as shown below. The link to the protocol is also available on the main menu and right side bar of the website in all pages. Alternatively you may directly access the study protocol using the following link: https://esoBenchmark.org/protocol
To start submitting your cases to our electronic Case Report Form (CRF) please click on the link “Submit Cases” available on the platform as shown below:
The electronic Case Report Form (CRF) consists of a simple form that you may fill in the data for each case (see image below). Please ensure to complete as much information as possible / available. The CRF can be also accessed directly using the following link: https://esoBenchmark.org/CRF (after you have first logged in).
Fields including a red star at the end of each parameter (*) are mandatory, otherwise you will not be able to submit the specific case. For example, each case should be assigned with a unique Case ID, the first field in the form shown below:
Another mandatory field for the successful electronic submission of a case is the “Complications types and grades according to Clavien-Dindo *” (see below). This field is mandatory as it is the primary endpoint of this study!
The first column indicates the most common types of complications after esophageal surgery. The top raw lists the different grades of complications according to the Clavien-Dindo classification. Please rate each type of complication according to Clavien-Dindo. If the were no complications encountered, please indicate "None" for all types and grades of complications. "I" indicates "Grade I", "II" indicates "Grade II", "III" indicates "Grade III", and so on. If this grid is not clear to you, please visit the Clavien-Dindo Classification page available on the right sidebar of this platform (see image below).
This table (grid) shown in the image above was created to record with a single click the type of as well as the grade of the same complication according to the Clavien-Dindo Classification of Surgical Complications.
For example, if in a case there was an anastomotic leak that was managed surgically, the complication would be Grade IIIb as shown below:
Please ensure you included all types and grades of complications in this table.
For additional types of complications not listed in the grid above, please grade them according to the Clavien-Dindo Classification of Surgical Complications in the separate text area shown below:
Please ensure to click on the “Submit” button at the end of the form to successfully submit each case you added data for as shown below:
Please click on the “Submit” button only once and wait until your receive the confirmation shown below:
To submit the next case, click on the “Go back to the form” link shown above or click on the “Submit cases” link available in the main menu or the right side bar of the website.
If for any reason you would like to access the list of your previous case submissions, please click on the “View your previous submissions.” links available on the top of the form as shown below:
Then you will be provided with the list of cases (only the ones that you have submitted) where you may view or edit again, as shown below:
Please ensure to save your changes by clicking on the “Submit” button at the end of the page.
We have also made available for your convenience and to ensure unified and accurate data collection several online calculators that are accessible at the right side bar of the website (after having first logged in) as shown below.
If you are not familiar with the Clavien-Dindo Classification of Surgical Complications, the parameter associated with the primary endpoint of the study, please ensure that you have first read and understood clearly the different grades available at the link “Clavien-Dindo Classification” as shown above
If you have any questions or something is unclear regarding the study design, protocol or CRF, please contact Dr Henner Schmidt by using our online contact form or by contacting him directly (by email: (Henner.Schmidt@usz.ch). The link to the online contact form is available at the main menu and right side bar of our website. Alternatively you may use the direct link: https://esoBenchmark.org/contact