Systematic reviews have found quantitative evidence that low study quality may have introduced a bias into preclinical stroke research. Monitoring, auditing, and standard operating procedures (SOPs) are already key elements of quality control in randomized clinical trials and will hopefully be widely adopted by preclinical stroke research in the near future. Increasingly, funding bodies and review boards overseeing animal experiments are taking a proactive stance, and demand auditable quality control measures in preclinical research. Every good quality control system is based on its SOPs. This article introduces the concept of quality control and presents a SOP in experimental stroke research.
