Frequently asked questions
These answers describe the current SnapChole clinical audit. Centres should follow the dated specification reviewed and approved through their local process.
About the study
What is SnapChole?
SnapChole is an international collaborative clinical audit of routine management for adults with TG18 Grade II or III acute calculous cholecystitis. Participating services review consecutive eligible cases during a 90-day local audit period. The current dated audit specification defines the audit.
Which study description should my centre use?
Use the SnapChole audit specification listed on the materials page. Centres should follow it for scope, eligibility, and data collection.
Where can centres find the current study description?
The current dated SnapChole audit specification is published on the materials page. Centres should use that description for scope, eligibility, and data collection.
Does SnapChole assign a treatment or change patient care?
No. The audit reviews routine care and does not randomize patients, allocate treatment, or direct clinical decisions. The treating team remains responsible for all care decisions.
Eligibility and case identification
Who can participate?
Participation is organized through hospitals and professional collaborators, not through patient self-enrolment on this site. A centre should contact the study team and complete its local review before data collection begins.
Which cases are included?
Adults aged 18 years or older with confirmed TG18 Grade II or Grade III acute calculous cholecystitis, identified consecutively during the centre’s predefined 90-day audit period. The audit excludes Grade I-only disease, acalculous cholecystitis, isolated cholangitis or choledocholithiasis, primary gallstone pancreatitis, and elective admission for chronic biliary symptoms. Follow the approved local copy of the specification.
Can patients sign up through this website?
No. This site is for hospital teams and collaborators. The current audit specification includes no study-specific questionnaire or direct patient contact.
Approvals and data
Does the study have one ethics classification for every country?
No. Each participating centre must obtain written local classification and information-governance requirements before it starts. Requirements for ethics review, consent, notification, or opt-out vary by institution and jurisdiction. This website does not determine a centre’s classification.
What information leaves a centre?
Patient-level records and local linkage information remain at the participating service. The audit describes central submission of anonymous aggregate counts, denominators, and summary outcomes only. A centre that needs to transfer patient-level data would need a separate classification and governance review.
What does “90 days” mean?
It is the local consecutive audit period defined by each centre after local review. It is not a promise of patient follow-up or a network-wide start date.
Where is the data-entry portal?
There is no public data-entry portal on this site. Access instructions are provided directly by the study team after centre onboarding and local approvals.
Collaboration
How are contributions recognized?
Contributions are acknowledged according to actual work on audit standards, local leadership, case ascertainment, validation, analysis, governance review, improvement planning, and reporting. Final publication authorship criteria should be checked with the study team.