Rules for writers, Tenth edition - Diana Hacker, Nancy Sommers 2021

Parentheses
Other punctuation marks
Punctuation

Use parentheses to enclose supplemental material, minor digressions, and afterthoughts.

Nurses record patients’ vital signs (temperature, pulse, and blood pressure) several times a day.

Use parentheses to enclose letters or numbers labeling items in a series.

Regulations stipulated that only the following equipment could be used on the survival mission: (1) a knife, (2) thirty feet of parachute line, (3) a book of matches, (4) two ponchos, (5) an E tool, and (6) a signal flare.

NOTE: Do not overuse parentheses. As writers draft, they often think of additional details and use parentheses to work them in as best they can. Such sentences usually can be revised to add the details without parentheses.