When should clinical guidelines be updated?

Evidence-informed and consensus-based statements about SAFEty of Physical Agent Modalities Practice in physiotherapy and rehabilitation medicine (SAFE PAMP): a national Delphi of healthcare scientific societies

OBJECTIVE

A shared consensus on the safety about physical agent modalities (PAMs) practice in physiotherapy and rehabilitation is lacking. We aimed to develop evidence-informed and consensus-based statements about the safety of PAMs.

STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING

A RAND-modified Delphi Rounds' survey was used to reach a consensus. We established a steering committee of the Italian Association of Physiotherapy (Associazione Italiana di Fisioterapia) to identify areas and questions for developing statements about the safety of the most commonly used PAMs in physiotherapy and rehabilitation. We invited 28 National Scientific and Technical Societies, including forensics and lay members, as a multidisciplinary and multiprofessional panel of experts to evaluate the nine proposed statements and formulate additional inputs. The level of agreement was measured using a 9-point Likert scale, with consensus in the Delphi Rounds assessed using the rating proportion with a threshold of 75%.

RESULTS

Overall, 17 (61%) out of 28 scientific and technical societies participated, involving their most representative members. The panel of experts mainly consisted of clinicians (88%) with expertise in musculoskeletal (47%), pelvic floor (24%), neurological (18%) and lymphatic (6%) disorders with a median experience of 30 years (IQR=17-36). Two Delphi rounds were necessary to reach a consensus. The final approved criteria list comprised nine statements about the safety of nine PAMs (ie, electrical stimulation neuromodulation, extracorporeal shock wave therapy, laser therapy, electromagnetic therapy, diathermy, hot thermal agents, cryotherapy and therapeutic ultrasound) in adult patients with a general note about populations subgroups.

CONCLUSIONS

The resulting consensus-based statements inform patients, healthcare professionals and policy-makers regarding the safe application of PAMs in physiotherapy and rehabilitation practice. Future research is needed to extend this consensus on paediatric and frail populations, such as immunocompromised patients.

Designing tailored maintenance strategies for systematic reviews and clinical practice guidelines using the Portfolio Maintenance by Test-Treatment (POMBYTT) framework

BACKGROUND

Organizations face diverse contexts and requirements when updating and maintaining their portfolio, or pool, of systematic reviews or clinical practice guidelines they need to manage. We aimed to develop a comprehensive, theoretical framework that might enable the design and tailoring of maintenance strategies for portfolios containing systematic reviews and guidelines.

METHODS

We employed a conceptual approach combined with a literature review. Components of the diagnostic test-treatment pathway used in clinical healthcare were transferred to develop a framework specifically for systematic review and guideline portfolio maintenance strategies.

RESULTS

We developed the Portfolio Maintenance by Test-Treatment (POMBYTT) framework comprising diagnosis, staging, management, and monitoring components. To illustrate the framework's components and their elements, we provided examples from both a clinical healthcare test-treatment pathway and a clinical practice guideline maintenance scenario. Additionally, our literature review provided possible examples for the elements in the framework, such as detection variables, detection tests, and detection thresholds. We furthermore provide three example strategies using the framework, of which one was based on living recommendations strategies.

CONCLUSIONS

The developed framework might support the design of maintenance strategies that could contain multiple options besides updating to manage a portfolio (e.g. withdrawing and archiving), even in the absence of the target condition. By making different choices for variables, tests, test protocols, indications, management options, and monitoring, organizations might tailor their maintenance strategy to suit specific contexts and needs. The framework's elements could potentially aid in the design by being explicit about the operational aspects of maintenance strategies. This might also be helpful for end-users and other stakeholders of systematic reviews and clinical practice guidelines.

A systematic review and evaluation of post-stroke depression clinical practice guidelines

OBJECTIVE

Post-stroke depression is a depressive mood disorder that follows a cerebrovascular accident and is a burden on stroke patients. Its management is included in clinical practice guidelines focused on stroke, and the recommended treatment is selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors in conjunction with psychotherapy. Clinical practice guidelines are recommendations used to standardize best medical practice, but there is no current evaluation of guidelines containing post stroke depression recommendations. Thus, the objective is to appraise the selected guidelines manner of development and quality.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A systematic literature review across three databases and a manual google search was performed to collect guidelines that included recommendations on the management of post-stroke depression. 1236 guidelines were screened, and 27 were considered for inclusion. Considered guidelines were manually reviewed by the authors, and ultimately, 7 met inclusion criteria. The appraisal of guidelines for research and evaluation was used to evaluate these guidelines' recommendations around post-stroke depression.

RESULTS

Three guidelines met the threshold considered "High", with all of them having five or more quality domains eclipse the cutoff score of 70%. Across all guidelines, the highest scoring domains were "Scope and Purpose", "Clarity of Presentation", and "Editorial Independence" with scores of 76.98%, 73.81%, and 91.36% respectively. The lowest scoring domains were "Applicability", "Rigor of Development", and "Stakeholder Involvement" with respective scores of 58.73%, 54.02%, and 43.90%.

CONCLUSIONS

The domains "Applicability", "Rigor of Development," and "Stakeholder Involvement" were the lowest scoring domains. These specific domains represent areas in which future guidelines could be more developed.

The overall quality of evidence of recommendations surrounding nutrition and diet in inflammatory bowel disease

BACKGROUND AND AIM

Recently, there has been an increased focus on the role nutrition and diet play in maintaining health in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). We aimed to assess the overall quality, strength, and transparency of conflicts among guidelines on nutrition/diet in IBD.

METHODS

A systematic search was performed on multiple databases from inception until January 1, 2021, to identify guidelines pertaining to nutrition or diet in IBD. All guidelines were reviewed for disclosure of conflicts of interest (COI) and funding, recommendation quality and strength, external document review, patient representation, and plans for update-as per Institute of Medicine (IOM) standards. In addition, recommendations and their quality were compared between guidelines/societies.​ RESULTS: Seventeen distinct societies and a total of 228 recommendations were included. Not all guidelines provided recommendations on key aspects of diet-such as the role of supplements or the appropriate micro/macro nutrition in IBD. Fifty-nine percent of guidelines reported on COI, 24% underwent external review, and 41% included patient representation. 18.4%, 25.9%, and 55.7% of recommendations were based on high-, moderate-, and low-quality evidence, respectively. 10.5%, 24.6%, and 64.9% of recommendations were strong, weak/conditional, and did not provide a strength, respectively. The proportion of high-quality evidence (p = 0.12) and strong recommendations (p = 0.83) did not significantly differ across societies.

CONCLUSIONS

Many guidelines do not provide recommendations on key aspects of diet/nutrition in IBD. As over 50% of recommendations are based on low-quality evidence, further studies on nutrition/diet in IBD are warranted to improve the overall quality of evidence.

An adapted 'Ottawa' method allowed assessing the need to update topic areas within clinical practice guidelines

OBJECTIVE

To adapt and evaluate a method for assessing the need to update guideline topic areas involving multiple recommendations.

STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING

The 'Ottawa method' uses literature signals to determine changes in evidence that trigger a need to update individual guideline questions. We adapted the Ottawa method to include a process for aggregating updating signals by topic area (e.g., resuscitation) and tested this method using the German guideline on the treatment of patients with severe/multiple injuries. This involved a focused systematic evaluation of current evidence to identify updating signals, and classifying the need to update for each topic area. Then, we surveyed the guideline group online about the modified method.

RESULTS

We conducted focused literature searches for 37 topic areas and screened a mean of 97 abstracts per topic area in 2021. The need to update was high for eight (21.6%), intermediate for eight (21.6%), and low for 21 topic areas (56.8%) based on updating signals. The survey response rate was 56% (24/43). Most guideline group members (94%, 16/17 responders) would use the Ottawa method again, but their comments identified some weaknesses.

CONCLUSION

The modified Ottawa method is a suitable, efficient tool to generate evidence-based updating signals for guideline topic areas involving multiple recommendations. Further fine-tuning is recommended.

Guidance for family about comfort care in dementia: a comparison of an educational booklet adopted in six jurisdictions over a 15 year timespan

Background

To support family caregivers of people with dementia in end-of-life decision making, a family booklet on comfort care has been adapted and adopted by several European jurisdictions since the original publication in Canada in 2005.

Methods

We analyzed and compared the adaptations to the family booklets used in Canada, the Czech Republic, Italy, the Netherlands, the UK and Ireland that were made up to 2021. Qualitative content analysis was used to create a typology of changes to the original booklet. Interviews with the teams that adapted the booklets contributed to methodological triangulation. Further, using an established framework, we assessed whether the contents of the booklets addressed all domains relevant to optimal palliative dementia care.

Results

The booklets differed in the types of treatment addressed, in particular tube feeding, euthanasia, and spiritual care. There was also variability in the extent to which medical details were provided, an emphasis on previously expressed wishes in medical decision making, addressing of treatment dilemmas at the end of life, the tone of the messages (indirect or explicit) and the discussion of prognosis (as more or less positive), and the involvement of various healthcare professionals and family caregivers in care. All booklets addressed all domains of palliative dementia care.

Conclusions

We identified core elements in providing information on end-of-life care to family caregivers of people with dementia as related to optimal palliative care in dementia. Additionally, local adaptations and updates are required to account for socio-cultural, clinical, and legal differences which may also change over time. These results may inform development of educational and advance care planning materials for different contexts.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12904-022-00962-z.

Systematic review of guideline-recommended medications prescribed for treatment of low back pain

OBJECTIVE

To identify and descriptively compare medication recommendations among low back pain (LBP) clinical practice guidelines (CPG).

METHODS

We searched PubMed, Cochrane Database of Systematic Review, Index to Chiropractic Literature, AMED, CINAHL, and PEDro to identify CPGs that described the management of mechanical LBP in the prior five years. Two investigators independently screened titles and abstracts and potentially relevant full text were considered for eligibility. Four investigators independently applied the Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation (AGREE) II instrument for critical appraisal. Data were extracted for pharmaceutical intervention, the strength of recommendation, and appropriateness for the duration of LBP.

RESULTS

316 citations were identified, 50 full-text articles were assessed, and nine guidelines with global representation met the eligibility criteria. These CPGs addressed pharmacological treatments with or without non-pharmacological treatments. All CPGS focused on the management of acute, chronic, or unspecified duration of LBP. The mean overall AGREE II score was 89.3% (SD 3.5%). The lowest domain mean score was for applicability, 80.4% (SD 5.2%), and the highest was Scope and Purpose, 94.0% (SD 2.4%). There were ten classifications of medications described in the included CPGs: acetaminophen, antibiotics, anticonvulsants, antidepressants, benzodiazepines, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), opioids, oral corticosteroids, skeletal muscle relaxants (SMRs), and atypical opioids.

CONCLUSIONS

Nine CPGs, included ten medication classes for the management of LBP. NSAIDs were the most frequently recommended medication for the treatment of both acute and chronic LBP as a first line pharmacological therapy. Acetaminophen and SMRs were inconsistently recommended for acute LBP. Meanwhile, with less consensus among CPGs, acetaminophen and antidepressants were proposed as second-choice therapies for chronic LBP. There was significant heterogeneity of recommendations within many medication classes, although oral corticosteroids, benzodiazepines, anticonvulsants, and antibiotics were not recommended by any CPGs for acute or chronic LBP.

Methodology and experiences of rapid advice guideline development for children with COVID-19: responding to the COVID-19 outbreak quickly and efficiently

Background

Rapid Advice Guidelines (RAG) provide decision makers with guidance to respond to public health emergencies by developing evidence-based recommendations in a short period of time with a scientific and standardized approach. However, the experience from the development process of a RAG has so far not been systematically summarized. Therefore, our working group will take the experience of the development of the RAG for children with COVID-19 as an example to systematically explore the methodology, advantages, and challenges in the development of the RAG. We shall propose suggestions and reflections for future research, in order to provide a more detailed reference for future development of RAGs.

Result

The development of the RAG by a group of 67 researchers from 11 countries took 50 days from the official commencement of the work (January 28, 2020) to submission (March 17, 2020). A total of 21 meetings were held with a total duration of 48 h (average 2.3 h per meeting) and an average of 16.5 participants attending. Only two of the ten recommendations were fully supported by direct evidence for COVID-19, three recommendations were supported by indirect evidence only, and the proportion of COVID-19 studies among the body of evidence in the remaining five recommendations ranged between 10 and 83%. Six of the ten recommendations used COVID-19 preprints as evidence support, and up to 50% of the studies with direct evidence on COVID-19 were preprints.

Conclusions

In order to respond to public health emergencies, the development of RAG also requires a clear and transparent formulation process, usually using a large amount of indirect and non-peer-reviewed evidence to support the formation of recommendations. Strict following of the WHO RAG handbook does not only enhance the transparency and clarity of the guideline, but also can speed up the guideline development process, thereby saving time and labor costs.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12874-022-01545-5.

Recommendation Reversals in Gastroenterology Clinical Practice Guidelines

Background

Recommendations in clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) may be reversed when evidence emerges to show they are futile or unsafe. In this study, we identified and characterized recommendation reversals in gastroenterology CPGs.

Methods

We searched CPGs published by 20 gastroenterology societies from January 1990 to December 2019. We included guidelines which had at least two iterations of the same topic. We defined reversals as when (a) the more recent iteration of a CPG recommends against a specific practice that was previously recommend in an earlier iteration of a CPG from the same body, and (b) the recommendation in the previous iteration of the CPG is not replaced by a new diagnostic or therapeutic recommendation in the more recent iteration of the CPG. The primary outcome was the number of recommendation reversals. Secondary outcomes included the strength of recommendations and quality of evidence cited for reversals.

Results

Twenty societies published 1022 CPGs from 1990 to 2019. Our sample for analysis included 129 unique CPGs. There were 11 recommendation reversals from 10 guidelines. New evidence was presented for 10 recommendation reversals. Meta-analyses were cited for two reversals, and randomized controlled trials (RCTs) for seven reversals. Recommendations were stronger after the reversal for three cases, weaker in two cases, and of similar strength in three cases. We were unable to compare recommendation strengths for three reversals.

Conclusion

Recommendation reversals in gastroenterology CPGs are uncommon but highlight low value or harmful practices.

The Organic Turn: Coping With Pandemic and Non-pandemic Challenges by Integrating Evidence-, Theory-, Experience-, and Context-Based Knowledge in Advising Health Policy

The COVID-19 pandemic has posed an extraordinary challenge for public health and health policy. Questions have arisen concerning the main strategies to cope with this situation and the lessons to be learned from the pandemic. This conceptual paper aims to clarify these questions via sociological concepts. Regarding coping strategies used during the pandemic, there is a strong tendency for health policymakers to rely on expert knowledge rather than on evidence-based knowledge. This has caused the evidence-based healthcare community to respond to urgent demands for advice by rapidly processing new knowledge. Nonetheless, health policymakers still mainly rely on experts in making policy decisions. Our sociological analysis of this situation identified three lessons for coping with pandemic and non-pandemic health challenges: (1) the phenomenon of accelerating knowledge processing could be interpreted from the organizational innovation perspective as a shift from traditional mechanistic knowledge processing to more organic forms of knowledge processing. This can be described as an "organic turn." (2) The return of experts is part of this organic turn and shows that experts provide both evidence-based knowledge as well as theoretical, experiential, and contextual knowledge. (3) Experts can use theory to expeditiously provide advice at times when there is limited evidence available and to provide complexity-reducing orientation for decisionmakers at times where knowledge production leads to an overload of knowledge; thus, evidence-based knowledge should be complemented by theory-based knowledge in a structured two-way interaction to obtain the most comprehensive and valid recommendations for health policy.

Weight management across preconception, pregnancy, and postpartum: A systematic review and quality appraisal of international clinical practice guidelines

This systematic review and quality appraisal evaluated clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) for weight management and weight-related behaviors across preconception, pregnancy, and postpartum. CPGs published in English were identified from research and guideline-specific databases between 2010 and 2019. Recommendations were categorized into weight (body mass index screening, weight loss, weight gain prevention, and gestational weight gain), diet, food safety, physical activity, and behavioral strategies. Three independent appraisers assessed CPG quality using the Appraisal of Guidelines Research and Evaluation II instrument. Twenty-two CPGs were included across preconception (n = 2), pregnancy (n = 8), postpartum (n = 2), or a combination (n = 10). Overall, 45% of CPGs were appraised as poor quality, 32% as moderate, and 23% as high. Evaluation of body mass index and supplementation recommendations were most common across CPGs, alongside secondary weight management recommendations for women with obesity in fewer CPGs. Accompanying recommendations for diet, physical activity, and behavior were highly variable between guidelines. We report significant ambiguity in existing guidance and an absence of important considerations, including targeting weight gain prevention and limiting excess gestational weight gain. Results emphasize the need for development of robust, comprehensive, and high quality guidelines on healthy lifestyle and weight management across these formative reproductive life stages.

Practice changes in Italian Gynaecologic Units during the COVID-19 pandemic: a survey study

The impact of Coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic on Italian Gynaecological Units practice and the compliance and satisfaction with available guidelines/recommendations is unknown. Therefore, a survey was conducted among all Italian Gynaecological Units Directors in April 2020. The response rate was 90% (135/150). 77.8% of centres performed surgery only for oncologic or not deferrable pathologies, and 9.6% was closed. 68.7% of directors were at least moderately satisfied by published guidelines/recommendations, but 94.8% of respondents identified limitations, mainly (83%) the absent definition of benign non-deferrable pathology. Responders considered as non-deferrable severe endometriosis (69.6%), endometriosis with organ failure/dysfunction (74.1%), and unresponsive symptomatic fibroids (89.6%). Despite guidelines/recommendations, respondents treated ovarian (77%) and endometrial (71.6%) cancer as usual. Only a minority of respondents reduced the laparoscopic approach (11.2%) and adopted all recommended surgical precautions (9.6%). Compliance with available guidelines/recommendations appears incomplete. Reconsidering guidelines/recommendations regarding oncological cases and specify non-deferrable benign pathologies would improve guidelines/recommendations compliance.Impact statementWhat is already known on this subject? The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has profoundly influenced medical routine practice worldwide. Surgery units have been forced to reduce or even completely restrict their activity to re-allocate human resources. Many major international gynaecological societies have released statements and guidelines, providing various recommendations to guide practice changes. However, the impact of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic on Italian Gynaecological Units practice and the compliance and satisfaction with available guidelines/recommendations is unknown.What do the results of this study add? Study results provide evidence showing how the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has changed surgical activity in the Italian Gynaecological Units. Most centres reduced surgical activity, limiting surgery only for oncologic or not deferrable pathologies. Moreover, our research shows the level of compliance and satisfaction with available guidelines/recommendations and where they need to be improved. Most directors were at least moderately satisfied but identified different limitations. Guidelines/recommendations do not provide enough details, such as the absent definition of benign non-deferrable pathologies.What are the implications of these findings for clinical practice and/or further research? The limited compliance with available guidelines/recommendations and identified limitations suggest reconsidering guidelines/recommendations focussing on identified gaps. Provide more details, such as specifying non-deferrable benign pathologies, would improve guidelines/recommendations compliance.

Treatment Guidelines for PTSD: A Systematic Review

Background: The aim of this review was to assess the quality of international treatment guidelines for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and identify differences between guideline recommendations, with a focus on the treatment of nightmares. Methods: Guidelines were identified through electronic searches of MEDLINE, CINAHL, PubMed, Embase and Science Direct, as well as web-based searches of international guideline repositories, websites of psychiatric organisations and targeted web-searches for guidelines from the three most populous English-speaking countries in each continent. Data in relation to recommendations were extracted and the AGREE II criteria were applied to assess for quality. Results: Fourteen guidelines, published between 2004–2020, were identified for inclusion in this review. Only five were less than 5 years old. Three guidelines scored highly across all AGREE II domains, while others varied between domains. Most guidelines consider both psychological and pharmacological therapies as first-line in PTSD. All but one guideline recommended cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) as first-line psychological treatment, and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) as first-line pharmacological treatment. Most guidelines do not mention the targeted treatment of nightmares as a symptom of PTSD. Prazosin is discussed in several guidelines for the treatment of nightmares, but recommendations vary widely. Most PTSD guidelines were deemed to be of good quality; however, many could be considered out of date. Recommendations for core PTSD symptoms do not differ greatly between guidelines. However, despite the availability of targeted treatments for nightmares, most guidelines do not adequately address this. Conclusions: Guidelines need to be kept current to maintain clinical utility. Improvements are most needed in the AGREE II key domains of ‘applicability’, ‘rigour of development’ and ‘stakeholder involvement’. Due to the treatment-resistant nature of nightmares, guideline development groups should consider producing more detailed recommendations for their targeted treatment. More high-quality trials are also required to provide a solid foundation for making these clinical recommendations for the management of nightmares in PTSD.

Evaluation of the reporting quality of clinical practice guidelines on lung cancer using the RIGHT checklist

BACKGROUND

In recent years, the number of clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) for lung cancer has increased, but the quality of these guidelines has not been systematically assessed so far. Our aim was to assess the reporting quality of CPGs on lung cancer published since 2018 using the International Reporting Items for Practice Guidelines in Health Care (RIGHT) instrument.

METHODS

We systematically searched the major electronic literature databases, guideline databases and medical society websites from January 2018 to November 2020 to identify all CPGs for small cell and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The search and extraction were completed using standardized forms. The quality of included guidelines was evaluated using the RIGHT statement. We present the results descriptively, including a stratification by selected determinants.

RESULTS

A total of 49 CPGs were included. The mean proportion across the guidelines of the 22 items of the RIGHT checklist that were appropriately reported was 57.9%. The items most common to be poorly reported were quality assurance (item 17) and description of the role of funders (item 18b), both of which were reported in only one guideline. The proportions of items within each of the seven domains of the RIGHT checklist that were correctly reported were Basic information 75.9%; background 83.2%; evidence 44.5%; recommendations 55.4%; review and quality assurance 12.2%; funding and declaration and management of interests 42.9%; and other information 38.1%. The reporting quality of guidelines did not differ between publication years. CPGs published in journals with impact factor >30 tended to be best reported.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results revealed that reporting in CPGs for lung cancer is suboptimal. Particularly the declaration of funding and quality assurance are poorly reported in recent CPGs on lung cancer.

Protocol Adherence in the Intensive Care Unit for the Management of Adult Patients Admitted with Acute Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage

Background There are recognized protocols that exist for management with minimal data regarding protocol adherence. We conducted a retrospective analysis of aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) to determine whether the level of protocol adherence varied based on patient demographics or specific aspects of management.

Materials and Methods All cases of aSAH admitted to a tertiary-level intensive care unit (ICU) from 2014 to 2016 were identified from the Australia and New Zealand Intensive Care Society Core Database as well as the clinical records system. ICU demographic and descriptive data for protocol adherence, were collected from admission to discharge up to 22 days, or until death whichever was earlier.

Results A total of 58 cases of aSAH were registered; mean age was 56.7 years, 70.7% of patients were female, and mean length of stay was 12.6 days. World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies (WFNS) scale was documented more than Fisher grading. Of the 58 cases, 63.7% (37) underwent surgical clipping, with 83.7% (30) patients having this surgery within 48 hours. SBP/MAP were the most consistently recorded observations within protocol ranges, with adherence of 82.4% and 82.1%, respectively. Thirty-two percent of temperature measurements were outside of the normothermic range of 36.5 to 37.5°C with a mean adherence of 47.5% (standard deviation = ±0.24, median = 40). There was no correlation between adherence and patient, disease, or admission factors.

Conclusion This study demonstrated that there was no association between variation in protocol adherence based on age, admission dates, or disease factors including WFNS grade and Fisher scale. Best protocol adherence protocol for the management of aSAH within the ICU was blood pressure control. Areas for improvement were documentation of the WFNS and Fisher grading, and temperature measurement and management.

Laboratory Reporting Parameters of Microhematuria: Implications for Interpreting the 2020 AUA Guideline

OBJECTIVE

To explore how laboratories in the United States (U.S.) report red blood cell per high powered field (RBC/HPF) counts on urinalysis and to evaluate whether this methodology permits effective risk stratification in accordance with the 2020 AUA/SUFU microhematuria guidelines.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Reporting methods for RBC/HPF counts (ranges, or actual counts) were collected by querying urologists in U.S. academic medical institutions or commercial laboratories. We explore whether (1) the reporting schemes were concordant with the risk strata in the new microhematuria guideline (3-10 [low risk], 11-25 [intermediate risk], and more than 25 [high risk]), and (2) evaluate the potential for risk group misclassification based on reporting methodology.

RESULTS

Data were available for 141 laboratories. Seventy-two (51%) use RBC/HPF ranges, while the remainder use actual counts (or counts to a threshold). Sixty (42%) report range cutoffs which are not concordant with the microhematuria guidelines risk groups. Furthermore, fifty-six (40%) do not include the cutoff of 25 RBC/HPF which could potentially misclassify intermediate and high risk groups. Finally, sixteen (11%) do not include the cut-off of 3 RBC/HPF that defines the presence of microhematuria.

CONCLUSION

A significant number of laboratories report RBC/HPF counts in ranges that differ from thresholds in the 2020 AUA/SUFU guideline. The implication is potential misclassification of microhematuria both at minimum threshold diagnosis (3 RBC/HPF), and additionally between intermediate and high risk groups. Standardization of reporting schemes to actual RBC/HPF counts may allow improved adherence to guidelines while providing data for future guideline development.

Review of International Clinical Guidelines Related to Prenatal Screening during Monochorionic Pregnancies

We conducted a search for international clinical guidelines related to prenatal screening during monochorionic pregnancies. We found 25 resources from 13 countries/regions and extracted information related to general screening as well as screening related to specific monochorionic complications, including twin-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS), selective fetal growth restriction (SFGR), and twin anemia-polycythemia sequence (TAPS). Findings reveal universal recommendation for the early establishment of chorionicity. Near-universal recommendation was found for bi-weekly ultrasounds beginning around gestational week 16; routine TTTS and SFGR surveillance comprised of regularly assessing fetal growth, amniotic fluids, and bladder visibility; and fetal anatomical scanning between gestational weeks 18-22. Conflicting recommendation was found for nuchal translucency screening; second-trimester scanning for cervical length; routine TAPS screening; and routine umbilical artery, umbilical vein, and ductus venosus assessment. We conclude that across international agencies and organizations, clinical guidelines related to monochorionic prenatal screening vary considerably. This discord raises concerns related to equitable access to evidence-based monochorionic prenatal care; the ability to create reliable international datasets to help improve the quality of monochorionic research; and the promotion of patient safety and best monochorionic outcomes. Patients globally may benefit from the coming together of international bodies to develop inclusive universal monochorionic prenatal screening standards.

Guidelines for the Management of Children and Adolescent with COVID-19: protocol for an update

BACKGROUND

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has become a constant threat to people's lives, bringing huge challenges to the global public health and medical service system. In order to ensure the timeliness and reliability of the recommendations in guidelines, the working group of the Rapid Advice Guidelines for Management of Children with COVID-19 decided to update the guideline to incorporate the latest evidence to guide the management of COVID-19 in children and adolescent.

METHODS

We will update the guidelines, originally developed as a rapid advice guideline, into a standard guideline. We will follow the clinical practice guideline (CPG) update manuals of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) and the Spanish National Health System (SNHS). The updated guidelines will also follow the RIGHT (Reporting Items for Practice Guidelines in Healthcare) checklist and Checklist for the Reporting of Updated Guidelines (CheckUp).

DISCUSSION

Through systematic search, evaluation and grading of the best available relevant clinical evidence, combined with the experience of frontline clinical experts in the fight against the epidemic and the wishes of patients and their caretakers, we will update our previous rapid advice guidelines into a high-quality, implementable standard guidelines for the management of COVID-19 in children and adolescent.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

The standard guideline update has been registered at the International Practice Guidelines Registry Platform (http://guidelines-registry.cn/?lang=en, registration No. IPGRP-2020CN101).

The Development of Cancer Screening Guidelines

Clinicians and the public have always depended on expert advice to guide clinical practice. However, since the 1970s, a growing emphasis on evidence-based medicine has led to clinical practice guidelines being less expert based and increasingly evidence based and judgments about the balance between the two. Because the existence of standards for guidelines development is no guarantee that a guideline will be trustworthy, tools and instruments have been developed to measure the degree to which a guideline has been developed with rigorous adherence to methodology, and has not been influenced by conflicts of interest.

National guidelines for management of cervical squamous intraepithelial lesion: A survey of European Federation for colposcopy members

OBJECTIVES

The management of women with cervical squamous intraepithelial lesions (SIL) is fundamental to prevention of cervical cancer in an organized cervical screening programme. Clinical guidance should improve quality of care and clinical effectiveness if developed and implemented appropriately. This survey provides an update on the current situation of national guidelines for management of cervical SIL amongst member countries of European Federation for Colposcopy (EFC).

STUDY DESIGN

A questionnaire was sent to representatives of each member country of EFC. The questionnaire contained questions on: guidelines for management of cervical SIL of the National Societies/Associations of Colposcopy or others national societies/associations including the development and the consultation processes, guidelines for management of lower genital tract diseases and the regulations in each country for colposcopy practice.

RESULTS

We received responses from all 34 member countries. Thirty countries reported a national guideline for management of cervical SIL that were developed by, or in conjunction with, their national societies or associations of colposcopy. In most cases there was adherence to the recommended steps for guideline development: they were developed by a multi-disciplinary group of specialists (29 countries) and society members were consulted before publication (21 countries). A small number of countries (8) reported to have guidelines for the management of lower genital tract dysplasia (e.g. vulval disease) developed by other national societies. In most countries (26) the colposcopists are obliged to follow the guidelines but this is regulated in only 6 and in 12 countries the colposcopists need to be certified by the national society of colposcopy in order to practice.

CONCLUSION

There are advances in the development and provision of country specific guidance on the management of cervical SIL. Most EFC member countries have appropriate national guidelines that were developed using a clear methodology, are updated according to progresses in the field and are accessible online to current practitioners. These guidelines support colposcopists to follow evidence-based practice and provides understanding of best practice in guideline development and access.

A global perspective on management of bacterial infections in pregnancy: a systematic review of international guidelines

INTRODUCTION

Maternal sepsis is a leading cause of maternal and neonatal mortality. Despite the availability of management protocols, there is disparity in case fatality rates for pregnancy-related sepsis compared to other maternity-related complications. The main aim of this systematic review was to assess concordance between international evidence-based guidelines for the prevention and management of childbirth-related bacterial infections.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

The PRISMA statement was followed during the conduct and reporting of this review. PubMed was searched electronically from 2009 to November 2019 for clinical guidelines covering the topic of childbirth-related infections and specific searches for relevant guidelines on the websites of the top five international professional bodies most commonly identified by our searches. We did not apply any language restrictions. Guidelines were included if they provided any information about the prevention or management of childbirth-related bacterial infections irrespective of whether the guideline stated a recommendation or not. Two independent reviewers undertook study selection, decisions about inclusion of selected guidelines and data extraction. Extracted information was synthesized under the following topics: Asymptomatic bacteriuria; group B streptococcal infection (GBS); preterm premature rupture of membranes (P-PROM); intrauterine infection; procedures; maternal sepsis; miscellaneous. Concordance was defined as absence of contradictory information between the different guidelines with regards to a specific topic, subtopic or recommendation. Quality of included guidelines was assessed against the AGREE II guideline reporting domains.

RESULTS

A total of 43 guidelines were selected of which 11 were excluded leaving 32 guidelines that fulfilled our inclusion criteria. None of the guidelines fulfilled all the quality assessment domains and 11 (34%) of the guidelines satisfied 1-2 of domains only. Two guidelines covered the topic of asymptomatic bacteriuria, nine for GBS, five for P-PROM and three covered each of intra-amniotic infections maternal sepsis, obstetric procedures and interventions topics. The remaining guidelines covered miscellaneous topics.

CONCLUSIONS

There was concordance between guidelines with regards to several aspects in the prophylaxis and treatment of bacteriological infections in pregnancy. Nevertheless, there were several areas of discordance, some of which reached the extent of contradictory information as in the case of antenatal screening for GBS.

Guidelines in Low and Middle Income Countries Paper 3: Appraisal of Philippine Clinical Practice Guidelines using Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation II: improvement needed for rigor, applicability, and editorial independence

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

High-quality clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) are needed to guide practitioners, policy makers, and other stakeholders to provide optimal health care. This study aims to appraise the CPGs developed in the Philippines using the AGREE II instrument.

METHODS

Ninety-one CPGs were appraised independently by two health-care professionals. CPGs were considered acceptable if they garnered an overall mean score of at least 75.0% for all 6 domains and a domain score of at least 75.0% for rigor of development. A mean score of <75.0% on either of the criteria implied that the CPG needed revision.

RESULTS

Overall mean scores of the CPGs ranged from 8.4% to 79.2%, with a mean of 43.9% (standard deviation = 13.4%). In general, CPGs scored better for the domains of clarity of presentation, scope and purpose, and stakeholder involvement. Lowest scores were obtained for the domains of rigor of development, applicability, and editorial independence. Only 1 (1.1%) CPG qualified as acceptable.

CONCLUSION

AGREE II is a practical and useful guide in appraising the quality of CPGs. Strengthening technical capacity in various medical fields is essential to improve the quality of CPGs. Rigor of development, applicability issues, and editorial independence should be emphasized in CPG capacity-building activities.

Improving primary care management of asthma: do we know what really works?

Asthma imposes a substantial burden on individuals and societies. Patients with asthma need high-quality primary care management; however, evidence suggests the quality of this care can be highly variable. Here we identify and report factors contributing to high-quality management. Twelve primary care global asthma experts, representing nine countries, identified key factors. A literature review (past 10 years) was performed to validate or refute the expert viewpoint. Key driving factors identified were: policy, clinical guidelines, rewards for performance, practice organisation and workforce. Further analysis established the relevant factor components. Review evidence supported the validity of each driver; however, impact on patient outcomes was uncertain. Single interventions (e.g. healthcare practitioner education) showed little effect; interventions driven by national policy (e.g. incentive schemes and teamworking) were more effective. The panel's opinion, supported by literature review, concluded that multiple primary care interventions offer greater benefit than any single intervention in asthma management.

WSES guidelines updates

The World Society of Emergency Surgery promotes training and continuing medical education in the field of emergency surgery and trauma. One of the most important activities of the society is the development of guidelines. The debate about the process of developing and updating guidelines is very active with no clear consensus and different policies among scientific societies. The present commentary provides the position of the World Society of Emergency Surgery on guideline development process and their update.

Cost-risk-benefit analysis in diagnostic radiology with special reference to the application of referral guidelines

Cost-risk-benefit analysis has been applied to protection of the patient in diagnostic radiology with special reference to the application of referral guidelines. The analysis presented has extended previous work in this field to provide a theoretical framework that encompasses key factors that need to be considered in the optimisation of patient protection from both diagnostic and radiation risks. The fraction of patients whose symptoms do not meet criteria contained in the referral guidelines and, therefore, for whom an X-ray examination is not indicated has been termed the selectivity of the guidelines. Also included are the detriments arising from rejected or repeated examinations as well as the levels of patient dose employed in order to achieve given levels of true and false diagnostic outcomes. A comprehensive framework for optimisation is outlined and its relationship to justification discussed.

[Increasing the efficiency of guideline production: a narrative review]

BACKGROUND

The development of high-quality clinical practice guidelines is laborious and time-consuming. New methods have become available to streamline this process. However, the awareness of these methods should be improved.

METHODS

Selective literature search in PubMed/MEDLINE und Embase.

RESULTS

Simple tools such as surveys or voting systems can facilitate the organization, planning and communication. Adequate methods should be used to prioritize all potential questions that should be addressed in the guideline. Published or ongoing international guidelines and systematic reviews can be used meaningfully for the planned guideline. In the case of guideline updates, it should be determined whether all parts of the guideline require an update of the evidence. The need for an update should be investigated. The concept of living guidelines has the biggest potential to provide gains in efficiency. Living guidelines are continuously updated based on new evidence instead of being regularly updated at a predefined time.

CONCLUSIONS

New methods allowing for more efficient guideline production have been developed and, in part, already been introduced. Before starting with the production of a guideline (or its update), the potential advantages and disadvantages/risks of the corresponding methods should be balanced.

A systematic review of clinical guidelines on the management of acute, community-acquired CNS infections

BACKGROUND

The epidemiology of CNS infections in Europe is dynamic, requiring that clinicians have access to up-to-date clinical management guidelines (CMGs) to aid identification of emerging infections and for improving quality and a degree of standardisation in diagnostic and clinical management practices. This paper presents a systematic review of CMGs for community-acquired CNS infections in Europe.

METHODS

A systematic review. Databases were searched from October 2004 to January 2019, supplemented by an electronic survey distributed to 115 clinicians in 33 European countries through the CLIN-Net clinical network of the COMBACTE-Net Innovative Medicines Initiative. Two reviewers screened records for inclusion, extracted data and assessed the quality using the AGREE II tool.

RESULTS

Twenty-six CMGs were identified, 14 addressing bacterial, ten viral and two both bacterial and viral CNS infections. Ten CMGs were rated high quality, 12 medium and four low. Variations were identified in the definition of clinical case definitions, risk groups, recommendations for differential diagnostics and antimicrobial therapy, particularly for paediatric and elderly populations.

CONCLUSION

We identified variations in the quality and recommendations of CMGs for community-acquired CNS infections in use across Europe. A harmonised European "framework-CMG" with adaptation to local epidemiology and risks may improve access to up-to-date CMGs and the early identification and management of (re-)emerging CNS infections with epidemic potential.

What is the quality of clinical practice guidelines for the treatment of acute lateral ankle ligament sprains in adults? A systematic review

BACKGROUND

Acute lateral ankle ligament sprains (LALS) are a common injury seen by many different clinicians. Knowledge translation advocates that clinicians use Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPGs) to aid clinical decision making and apply evidence-based treatment. The quality and consistency of recommendations from these CPGs are currently unknown. The aims of this systematic review are to find and critically appraise CPGs for the acute treatment of LALS in adults.

METHODS

Several medical databases were searched. Two authors independently applied inclusion and exclusion criteria. The content of each CPG was critically appraised independently, by three authors, using the Appraisal of Guidelines for REsearch and Evaluation (AGREE II) instrument online version called My AGREE PLUS. Data related to recommendations for the treatment of acute LALS were abstracted independently by two reviewers.

RESULTS

This study found CPGs for physicians and physical therapists (Netherlands), physical therapists, athletic trainers, physicians, and nurses (USA) and nurses (Canada and Australia). Seven CPGs underwent a full AGREE II critical appraisal. None of the CPGs scored highly in all domains. The lowest domain score was for domain 5, applicability (discussion of facilitators and barriers to application, provides advice for practical use, consideration of resource implications, and monitoring/auditing criteria) achieving an exceptionally low joint total score of 9% for all CPGs. The five most recent CPGs scored a zero for applicability. Other areas of weakness were in rigour of development and editorial independence.

CONCLUSIONS

The overall quality of the existing LALS CPGs is poor and majority are out of date. The interpretation of the evidence between the CPG development groups is clearly not consistent. Lack of consistent methodology of CPGs is a barrier to implementation.

SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

Systematic review registered with PROSPERO ( CRD42015025478 ).

Developing and applying a 'living guidelines' approach to WHO recommendations on maternal and perinatal health

How should the WHO most efficiently keep its global recommendations up to date? In this article we describe how WHO developed and applied a ‘living guidelines’ approach to its maternal and perinatal health (MPH) recommendations, based on a systematic and continuous process of prioritisation and updating. Using this approach, 25 new or updated WHO MPH recommendations have been published in 2017–2018. The new approach helps WHO ensure its guidance is responsive to emerging evidence and remains up to date for end users.

Scientific methodology of the development of the Guidelines for the Care of People with Spina Bifida: An initiative of the Spina Bifida Association

BACKGROUND

We combined literature review and consensus-building methodologies to develop health care guidelines for people with Spina Bifida across the life span.

OBJECTIVE

The present paper describes the methodology used to update and expand this fourth edition of the Guidelines for the Care of People with Spina Bifida ("Guidelines"). This process was a fundamental initiative within the Spina Bifida Collaborative Care Network.

METHODS

Working groups were formed consisting of international, multidisciplinary teams of clinical and research experts. A systematic review of multiple databases was conducted. The consensus building methodology, One-Text Procedure, was followed to draft and revise documents. Each section of the Guidelines was presented by working group chairs at a face-to-face meeting using the Nominal Group Technique (NGT).

RESULTS

The Level 1 review resulted in 2449 abstracts being reviewed, and the Level 2 review resulted in 874 full text articles being archived for working groups. After working groups added and eliminated articles, a total of 803 manuscripts were included in the bibliography of the Guidelines. The final version of the Guidelines was then released in 2018.

CONCLUSIONS

Evidenced based-research and consensus methodologies were used to develop the fourth edition of the Guidelines. It is hoped that this document will guide not only health care providers, but also patients and families, so that people with Spina Bifida can have the best and most scientifically-based care and treatments throughout ever-longer and higher-quality lives.

Using a 10-step framework to support the implementation of an evidence-based clinical pathways programme

BACKGROUND

Integration of evidence into practice is suboptimal. Clinical pathways, defined as multidisciplinary care plans, are a method for translating evidence into local settings and have been shown to improve the value of patient care.

OBJECTIVE

To describe the development of a clinical pathways programme across a large academic healthcare system.

METHODS

We use a 10-step framework (grounded in the Knowledge-to-Action framework and ADAPTE Collaboration methodology for guideline adaptation) to support pathway development and dissemination, including facilitating clinical owner and stakeholder engagement, developing pathway prototypes based on rapid reviews of the existing literature, developing tools for dissemination and impact assessment. We use a cloud-based technology platform (Dorsata, Washington, DC) to assist with development and dissemination across our geographically distributed care settings and providers. Content is viewable through desktop and mobile applications. We measured programme adoption and penetration by examining number of pathways developed as well as mobile application use and pathway views.

RESULTS

From 1 February 2016 to 30 April 2018, a total of 202 pathways were disseminated. The three most common clinical domains represented were oncology (46.5%, n=94), pulmonary/critical care (8.9%, n=18) and cardiovascular medicine (7.4%, n=15). Users opting to register for a personal account totalled 1279; the three largest groups were physicians (45.1%, n=504), advanced practice providers (19.5%, n=245) and nurses (19.1%, n=240). Pathway views reached an average of 2150 monthly views during the last 3 months of the period. The majority of pathways reference at least one evidence-based source (93.6%, n=180).

CONCLUSIONS

A healthcare system can successfully use a framework and technology platform to support the development and dissemination of pathways across a multisite institution.

Evolving role of pharmaceutical physicians in medical evidence and education

The role of pharmaceutical physicians who are the experts working in pharmaceutical companies has progressed over the last few decades, from supervising research and development (R&D) studies and/or providing support to marketing teams to serving an independent critical function. In this review, we focus on pharmaceutical physicians serving medical affairs functions in the pharmaceutical industry. Historically, members of the medical affairs team mainly provided a bridge between commercial teams and the R&D sector and between the organization and external stakeholders. Such teams may even have been managed by other departments, with an emphasis on acquiring and generating data for regulatory purposes. In recent years, the role of medical affairs has broadened due to a change in focus and the increasingly stringent regulatory landscape. Strict regulations require the detachment of commercial from medical activities within pharmaceutical organizations. This change provides an opportunity for a different type of partnership, allowing scientifically minded and medically driven initiatives. This article summarizes the key role of pharmaceutical industry-based physicians in medical affairs and discusses the emerging and evolving role of medical affairs for value creation in evidence generation and medical education.

Value of Information Choices that Influence Estimates: A Systematic Review of Prevailing Considerations

Background. Although value of information (VOI) analyses are increasingly advocated and used for research prioritization and reimbursement decisions, the interpretation and usefulness of VOI outcomes depend critically on the underlying choices and assumptions used in the analysis. In this article, we present a structured overview of all items reported in literature to potentially influence VOI outcomes. Use of this overview increases awareness and transparency of choices and assumptions underpinning VOI outcomes. Methods. A systematic literature review was performed to identify aspects of VOI analyses that were found to potentially influence VOI outcomes. Identified aspects were grouped to develop a structured overview. Explanations were defined for all items included in the overview. Results. We retrieved 687 unique papers, of which 71 original papers and 8 reviews were included. In the full text of these 79 papers, 16 aspects were found that may influence VOI outcomes. These aspects related to the underlying evidence (bias, synthesis, heterogeneity, correlation), uncertainty (structural, future pricing), model (relevance, approach, population), choices in VOI calculation (estimation technique, implementation level, population size, perspective), and aspects specifically for assessing the value of future study designs (reversal costs, efficient estimator). These aspects were aggregated into 7 items to provide a structured overview. Conclusion. The developed overview should increase awareness of key choices underlying VOI analysis and facilitate structured reporting of such choices and interpretation of the ensuing VOI outcomes by researchers and policy makers. Use of this overview should improve prioritization and reimbursement decisions.

Factors hindering the adherence to clinical practice guideline for diabetes mellitus in the Palestinian primary healthcare clinics: a qualitative study

OBJECTIVE

Despite a high number of the internationally produced and implemented clinical guidelines, the adherence with them is still low in healthcare. This study aimed at exploring the perspectives and experiences of senior doctors and nurses towards the barriers of adherence to diabetes guideline.

SETTING

The Palestinian Primary Health Care-Ministry of Health (PHC-MoH) and Primary Health Care-United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (PHC- UNRWA) in Gaza Strip.

PARTICIPANTS

Individual face-to-face in-depth interviews were conducted with 20 senior doctors and nurses who were purposefully selected.

METHODS

Qualitative design was employed using the theoretical framework by Cabana et al to develop an interview guide. Semi-structural and audio-recorded interviews were conducted. Data were transcribed verbatim and thematically analysed.

RESULTS

The key theme barriers identified by participants that emerged from the analysed data were in regard of the PHC-MoH lack reimbursement, lack of resources and lack of the guideline trustworthiness, and in regard of PHC-UNRWA the time constraints and the lack of the guideline trustworthiness. The two key subthemes elicited from the qualitative analysis were the outdated guideline and lack of auditing and feedback.

CONCLUSION

The analysis identified a wide range of barriers against the adherence to diabetes guideline within the PHC-MoH and PHC-UNRWA. The environmental-related and guideline-related barriers were the most prominent factors influencing the guideline adherence. Our study can inform the policy makers and senior managers to develop a tailored interventions that can target the elicited barriers through a multifaceted implementation strategy.

An umbrella review of clinical practice guidelines for the management of patients with hip fractures and a synthesis of recommendations for the pre-operative period

AIM

The aim of this review was to locate, retrieve and critically appraise practice guidelines for the management of hip fractures. Given increasing evidence that the early recognition and management of these fractures is integral to achieving optimal outcomes, recommendations for the pre-operative period were synthesized and compared.

BACKGROUND

Hip fractures are associated with high rates of adverse outcomes and high healthcare costs which has resulted in the development of multiple practice guidelines to inform clinical decision-making.

DESIGN

An umbrella review of practice guidelines was conducted which included a critical appraisal using the Appraisal of Guidelines, Research and Evaluation-II instrument and a synthesis of pre-operative management recommendations.

DATA SOURCES

Multi-phased search for practice guidelines published in English using three bibliographic databases; three guideline network websites and three healthcare safety and quality organization websites with no date limit applied. Search was supplemented by contacting front-line knowledge users and content experts.

REVIEW METHODS

Steps for evidence-informed practice were followed: form question then search for, appraise and synthesize the evidence.

RESULTS

Five practice guidelines were appraised revealing significant variability in quality. The largest variability was in "rigour of development". Recommendations for pre-operative management were grouped into six categories: timing of surgery, expedited patient management, identification and treatment of correctable co-morbidities, pain management, preventative measures and multidisciplinary management.

CONCLUSION

Results of this review illustrate that not all practice guidelines are of equal quality. Given the costs associated with the development and maintenance of high-quality practice guidelines, such work may be more efficiently completed through international collaborations and then adapted for national and regional healthcare contexts.

Differential research impact in cancer practice guidelines' evidence base: lessons from ESMO, NICE and SIGN

Background

This is an appraisal of the impact of cited research evidence underpinning the development of cancer clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) by the professional bodies of the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO), the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN).

Methods

A total of 101 CPGs were identified from ESMO, NICE and SIGN websites across 13 cancer sites. Their 9486 cited references were downloaded from the Web of Science Clarivate Group database, analysed on Excel (2016) using Visual Basic Application macros and imported onto SPSS (V.24.0) for statistical tests.

Results

ESMO CPGs mostly cited research from Western Europe, while the NICE and SIGN ones from the UK, Canada, Australia and Scandinavian countries. The ESMO CPGs cited more recent and basic research (eg, drugs treatment), in comparison with NICE and SIGN CPGs where older and more clinical research (eg, surgery) papers were referenced. This chronological difference in the evidence base is also in line with that ESMO has a shorter gap between the publication of the research and its citation on the CPGs. It was demonstrated that ESMO CPGs report more chemotherapy research, while the NICE and SIGN CPGs report more surgery, with the results being statistically significant.

Conclusions

We showed that ESMO, NICE and SIGN differ in their evidence base of CPGs. Healthcare professionals should be aware of this heterogeneity in effective decision-making of tailored treatments to patients, irrespective of geographic location across Europe.

A systematic decision-making process on the need for updating clinical practice guidelines proved to be feasible in a pilot study

OBJECTIVES

The objective of this study was to test and evaluate a new decision-making process on the need for updating within the update of a German clinical practice guideline (CPG).

STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING

The pilot study comprised (1) limited searches in Pubmed to identify new potentially relevant evidence, (2) an online survey among the members of the CPG group to assess the need for update, and (3) a consensus conference for determination and prioritization of guideline sections with a high need for update. Subsequently, we conducted a second online survey to evaluate the procedure.

RESULTS

The searches resulted in 902 abstracts that were graded as new potentially relevant evidence. Twenty five of 39 members of the CPG group (64%) participated in the online survey. Seventy six percent of those took part in the second online survey. The evaluation study found on average a grade of support of the procedure regarding the determination of the need for update of 3.65 (standard deviation: 0.76) on a likert scale with 1 = "no support" to 5 = "very strong support."

CONCLUSION

The conducted procedure presents a systematic approach for assessing whether and to what extent a CPG requires updating and enables setting priorities for which particular guideline section to update within a CPG.

[Needs assessment to improve the applicability and methodological quality of a German S3 guideline]

BACKGROUND

Clinical practice guidelines can change the practice in healthcare only if their recommendations are implemented in a comprehensive way. The German S3 guideline "Local Therapy of Chronic Wounds in Patients with Peripheral Vascular Disease, Chronic Venous Insufficiency, and Diabetes" will be updated in 2017. The emphasis here is on the guideline's validity, user-friendliness and implementation into practice. Therefore, the aim was to identify the improvements required in regard to the guideline's methods and content presentation.

METHODS

The methodological approach used was the critical appraisal of the guideline according to established quality criteria and an additional stakeholder survey. Both were conducted between August and November 2016. The guideline and its related documents were reviewed independently by two researchers according to the criteria of the "Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation" (AGREE-II). Published reviews and peer reviews by external experts and organisations were also taken into account. For the stakeholder survey, a questionnaire with open questions was distributed by e-mail and via the Internet to health professionals and organisations involved in the care of patients with leg ulcers in Germany. The questions were aimed at amendments and new topics based on the stakeholders' experience in inpatient and outpatient care. In addition, the survey focused on gathering suggestions to improve the applicability of the guideline. Suggested new topics and amendments were summarised thematically. The stakeholders' suggestions to improve the applicability, the results of the critical appraisal and the relevant aspects of the external reviews were then summarised according to the AGREE-II domains and presented in a cause and effect diagram.

RESULTS

17 questionnaires (out of 864 sent out by e-mail) were returned. Due to high practice relevance, the stakeholders suggested an expansion of the inclusion criteria to patients with infected wounds and pressure ulcers. They also proposed that plastic surgical procedures, several specific wound products and complementary measures should be included. The guideline is of high methodical quality with respect to the systematic synthesis and the formal expert recommendations. From both the stakeholders' and reviewers' perspectives, the guideline should be more in line with what guideline users regarded as key issues. The recommendations should be more action-oriented. Implementation concepts should be provided to teach, implement and evaluate the guideline in healthcare facilities. The updating process should also follow current standards for guideline development, for systematic reviews and for managing conflict of interests.

CONCLUSION

The guideline is of high methodological quality but currently difficult to implement in clinical practice. The structured evaluation clearly reflects not only the potential for improvement but also provides a transparent theoretical framework for experts and scientific medical societies involved in the guideline updating process. Although some valuable insights were gained from the stakeholders' perspective, the representativeness is limited by the low response rate.

ERAS: Safety checklists, antibiotics, and VTE prophylaxis

The concept rested on several components that many of us have now tried to adopt or improve on, inclusive of a multidisciplinary team, a multimodal approach to anesthesia and preoperative preparedness, evidence-based approach to care protocols; and a change in management using interactive and continuous audit prior to and post-procedure. This article describes the development of ERAS protocols relative to checklist implementation, antibiotic use, and venous thromboembolism (VTE) prevention, how these ideas are developed and operationalized as well as how they are evolving and spreading across the care continuum to achieve sustained outcome improvements.

Clinical Practice Guidelines: A Primer on Development and Dissemination

Trustworthy clinical practice guidelines should be based on a systematic review of the literature, provide ratings of the quality of evidence and the strength of recommendations, consider patient values, and be developed by a multidisciplinary panel of experts. The quality of evidence reflects our certainty that the evidence warrants a particular action. Transforming evidence into a decision requires consideration of the quality of evidence, balance of benefits and harms, patients' values, available resources, feasibility of the intervention, acceptability by stakeholders, and effect on health equity. Empirical evidence shows that adherence to guidelines improves patient outcomes; however, adherence to guidelines is variable. Therefore, guidelines require active dissemination and innovative implementation strategies.

Recommendations for kidney disease guideline updating: a report by the KDIGO Methods Committee

Updating rather than de novo guideline development now accounts for the majority of guideline activities for many guideline development organizations, including Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO), an international kidney disease guideline development entity that has produced guidelines on kidney diseases since 2008. Increasingly, guideline developers are moving away from updating at fixed intervals in favor of more flexible approaches that use periodic expert assessment of guideline currency (with or without an updated systematic review) to determine the need for updating. Determining the need for guideline updating in an efficient, transparent, and timely manner is challenging, and updating of systematic reviews and guidelines is labor intensive. Ideally, guidelines should be updated dynamically when new evidence indicates a need for a substantive change in the guideline based on a priori criteria. This dynamic updating (sometimes referred to as a living guideline model) can be facilitated with the use of integrated electronic platforms that allow updating of specific recommendations. This report summarizes consensus-based recommendations from a panel of guideline methodology professionals on how to keep KDIGO guidelines up to date.

Quality assessment of clinical practice guidelines for integrative medicine in China: A systematic review

OBJECTIVE

To assess the quality of integrative medicine clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) published before 2014.

METHODS

A systematic search of the scientific literature published before 2014 was conducted to select integrative medicine CPGs. Four major Chinese integrated databases and one guideline database were searched: the Chinese Biomedical Literature Database (CBM), the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), China Science and Technology Journal Database (VIP), Wanfang Data, and the China Guideline Clearinghouse (CGC). Four reviewers independently assessed the quality of the included guidelines using the Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation (AGREE) II Instrument. Overall consensus among the reviewers was assessed using the intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC).

RESULTS

A total of 41 guidelines published from 2003 to 2014 were included. The overall consensus among the reviewers was good [ICC: 0.928; 95% confifi dence interval (CI): 0.920 to 0.935]. The scores on the 6 AGREE domains were: 17% for scope and purpose (range: 6% to 32%), 11% for stakeholder involvement (range: 0 to 24%), 10% for rigor of development (range: 3% to 22%), 39% for clarity and presentation (range: 25% to 64%), 11% for applicability (range: 4% to 24%), and 1% for editorial independence (range: 0 to 15%).

CONCLUSIONS

The quality of integrative medicine CPGs was low, the development of integrative medicine CPGs should be guided by systematic methodology. More emphasis should be placed on multi-disciplinary guideline development groups, quality of evidence, management of funding and conflfl icts of interest, and guideline updates in the process of developing integrative medicine CPGs in China.

Red flags presented in current low back pain guidelines: a review

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study was to identify and descriptively compare the red flags endorsed in guidelines for the detection of serious pathology in patients presenting with low back pain to primary care.

METHOD

We searched databases, the World Wide Web and contacted experts aiming to find the multidisciplinary clinical guideline in low back pain in primary care, and selected the most recent one per country. We extracted data on the number and type of red flags for identifying patients with higher likelihood of serious pathology. Furthermore, we extracted data on whether or not accuracy data (sensitivity/specificity, predictive values, etc.) were presented to support the endorsement of specific red flags.

RESULTS

We found 21 discrete guidelines all published between 2000 and 2015. One guideline could not be retrieved and after selecting one guideline per country we included 16 guidelines in our analysis from 15 different countries and one for Europe as a whole. All guidelines focused on the management of patients with low back pain in a primary care or multidisciplinary care setting. Five guidelines presented red flags in general, i.e., not related to any specific disease. Overall, we found 46 discrete red flags related to the four main categories of serious pathology: malignancy, fracture, cauda equina syndrome and infection. The majority of guidelines presented two red flags for fracture ('major or significant trauma' and 'use of steroids or immunosuppressors') and two for malignancy ('history of cancer' and 'unintentional weight loss'). Most often pain at night or at rest was also considered as a red flag for various underlying pathologies. Eight guidelines based their choice of red flags on consensus or previous guidelines; five did not provide any reference to support the choice of red flags, three guidelines presented a reference in general, and data on diagnostic accuracy was rarely provided.

CONCLUSION

A wide variety of red flags was presented in guidelines for low back pain, with a lack of consensus between guidelines for which red flags to endorse. Evidence for the accuracy of recommended red flags was lacking.

Effectiveness of a strategy that uses educational games to implement clinical practice guidelines among Spanish residents of family and community medicine (e-EDUCAGUIA project): a clinical trial by clusters

Background

Clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) have been developed with the aim of helping health professionals, patients, and caregivers make decisions about their health care, using the best available evidence. In many cases, incorporation of these recommendations into clinical practice also implies a need for changes in routine clinical practice. Using educational games as a strategy for implementing recommendations among health professionals has been demonstrated to be effective in some studies; however, evidence is still scarce. The primary objective of this study is to assess the effectiveness of a teaching strategy for the implementation of CPGs using educational games (e-learning EDUCAGUIA) to improve knowledge and skills related to clinical decision-making by residents in family medicine. The primary objective will be evaluated at 1 and 6 months after the intervention. The secondary objectives are to identify barriers and facilitators for the use of guidelines by residents of family medicine and to describe the educational strategies used by Spanish teaching units of family and community medicine to encourage implementation of CPGs.

Methods/design

We propose a multicenter clinical trial with randomized allocation by clusters of family and community medicine teaching units in Spain. The sample size will be 394 residents (197 in each group), with the teaching units as the randomization unit and the residents comprising the analysis unit. For the intervention, both groups will receive an initial 1-h session on clinical practice guideline use and the usual dissemination strategy by e-mail. The intervention group (e-learning EDUCAGUIA) strategy will consist of educational games with hypothetical clinical scenarios in a virtual environment.

The primary outcome will be the score obtained by the residents on evaluation questionnaires for each clinical practice guideline. Other included variables will be the sociodemographic and training variables of the residents and the teaching unit characteristics. The statistical analysis will consist of a descriptive analysis of variables and a baseline comparison of both groups. For the primary outcome analysis, an average score comparison of hypothetical scenario questionnaires between the EDUCAGUIA intervention group and the control group will be performed at 1 and 6 months post-intervention, using 95 % confidence intervals. A linear multilevel regression will be used to adjust the model.

Discussion

The identification of effective teaching strategies will facilitate the incorporation of available knowledge into clinical practice that could eventually improve patient outcomes. The inclusion of information technologies as teaching tools permits greater learning autonomy and allows deeper instructor participation in the monitoring and supervision of residents. The long-term impact of this strategy is unknown; however, because it is aimed at professionals undergoing training and it addresses prevalent health problems, a small effect can be of great relevance.

Trial registration

ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02210442.