Objective To systematically review the methodological quality of guidelines concerning infertility, so as to provide references for clinical practice. Methods Guidelines concerning infertility were electronically retrieved (from inception to Feb. 2013) in PubMed, EMbase, CBM, WanFang Data, CNKI, GIN guideline database guideline development websites (including NGC, NICE, SIGN, NZGG, SOGC, etc.), and medical associtation websites (including IFFS, FIGO, ESHRE, NFOG, RCOG, ASRM, ACOG, etc.). We also searched Chinese guideline websites including the website of the National Health and Family Planning Commission of People’s Republic of China, CGC (China Guideline Clearinghouse), and CPGN (Clinical Practice Guideline Net). Two reviews independently screened literature according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, and assessed the quality of guideline development and reporting using the Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation (AGREE II). Results a) A total of 16 guidelines concerning infertility were included, with development time ranging from 1998 to 2012. Among 16 guidelines, 10 guidelines were made by the USA, 3 by Britan, 1 by the Europe, and 1 by America and Europe. b) The scores of guidelines according to the domains of AGREE II decreased from “Clarity of presentations, scope and purpose”, “Participants”, “Applicability”, “Rigour of development”, and “Editorial independence”. 16 guidelines were generally low in quality. The levels of recommendations were Level A (5 guidelines), Level B (8 guidelines), and Level C (3 guidelines). c) Four evidence-based guidelines scored the top three in the domain of “Rigour of development”. d) The recommendations of different guidelines were fairly the same. e) No guidelines on infertility have been developed in China. Conclusion a) The guidelines on infertility should be improved in “Rigour of development” and “Applicability” in future. Conficts of interest should be addressed. b) Guidelines are recommended to be developed on the basis of the methods of evidence-based medicine, and best evidence is recommended. c) National organizations such as ASRM should be established in China, so as to develop biomedicine and TCM guidelines based on evidence and regulate the treatment. d) For the general assessment of guidelines, AGREE II should offer threshold criteria of suggestion.
Objective To systematically review the methodological quality of guidelines concerning pharmacological intervention for complicated hypertension. Methods The databases and relevant guideline websites such as MEDLINE, EMbase, CBM, WangFang Data, National Guideline Clearinghouse (NGC), Guidelines International Network (GIN), National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) and Clinical Practice Guideline Network (CPGN) were searched to collect the clinical guidelines concerning pharmacological intervention for complicated hypertension. By adopting the Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation (AGREE), the methodological quality of guidelines was assessed. Meanwhile the similarities, differences and features of drug recommendation in guidelines for different areas and diseases were analyzed by means of analogy comparison.Results A total of 21 guidelines concerning pharmacological intervention for complicated hypertension were included. The number of guidelines concerning hypertension complicated with coronary heart disease (CHD), stroke, diabetes mellitus (DM) and kidney disease (KD) was 5, 5, 7 and 4, respectively. The publication year ranged from 2000 to 2011. According to the AGREE instrument, 19 and 2 guidelines were graded as Level B and C, respectively. The overall guidelines got low average scores in the domain of “Stakeholder involvement” and “Applicability”, including 9 evidence-based guidelines. There were totally 4 and 3 classes in terms of the level of evidence and recommendation, respectively; moreover, 10 and 6 expression forms were adopted in the level of evidence and recommendation, respectively. For hypertension with angina pectoris, -blocker (BB) and calcium channel blocker (CCB) were recommended unanimously. For hypertension with myocardial infarction, angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEI) and BB were recommended unanimously. For hypertension with heart failure, ACEI, angiotensin-receptor blocker (ARB) and BB were recommended unanimously. For hypertension with later stage of post-stroke, 76.47% guidelines recommended diuretic (D) and ACEI. For hypertension with acute stroke, recommendations were mainly based on the guidelines developed by American Heart Association/American Stroke Association (AHA/ASA). For hypertension with DM or KD, the guidelines basically recommended that systolic/diastolic pressure should be controlled in the range of less than 130/80 mmHg. For hypertension with DM, ACEI were recommended unanimously, followed by D and CCB. For hypertension with KD, ACEI/ARB was recommended, while 3 of the 5 guidelines recommending CCB were from Asian. Conclusion The overall methodological qualities of complicated hypertension guidelines differs, with high proportion of evidence-based guidelines. The classification criteria of the levels of evidence and recommendation are still suboptimal. For hypertension with CHD, DM, KD and later stage of stroke, results from high quality clinical evidence are consistent, and the recommendations are basically unanimous, with no regional and quality difference. But in some clinical researches beyond reaching a consensus at present, the recommendation discrepancy exists, and there still remains controversy for hypertension with acute stroke.
Objective To improve care and outcomes for all migraine suffers, the USHC created these evidence-based guidelines for migraine headache. Methods Firstly, 5 relative Technical reviews were done according to the Methods used in the AHCPR Technical Reviews. Secondly, based on the results of the 5 technical reviews, the 4 treatment guidelines were developed in direction of the USHC’S Methods used in developing clinical guidelines. Results Evidence supporting the acute treatment and preventive treatment were exclusively Class 1 studies, evidence supporting the diagnostic testing were either Class 2 or Class 3 studies , only very few expert judgment was given on some compelling issues without evidence. The recommendations they supporting were high-qualified, middle-qualified, and poor-qualified respectively. Conclusion This Evidence-Based Guidelines is one of the first and most extensive cooperative projects available for creating guidelines. The guideline was developed with systematical and scientific methods and stroven to base all of its recommendations on evidence.
Objective To systematically review simple hypertension guidelines through methods as follows: (a) compare differences and similarities of the recommended drugs; (b) analyze differences of the recommended frequencies in different regions and quality levels; and (c) explore the recommended evidence basis, so as to better understand relevant guidelines. Methods Uncomplicated hypertension guidelines concerning pharmacological interventions were identified (terminated by March 2012) in Ovid, EMbase, Chinese Biomedical Disc (CBM) and WangFang database as well as guideline websites including NGC (National Guideline Clearinghouse), GIN(Guidelines International Network), NICE(National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence) and CPGN (Clinical Practice Guideline Net, guidelines concerning pharmacological intervention in simple hypertension were included. A total of 6 domains (involving 23 items) in the Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation (AGREE) were applied to assess the methodological quality of the guidelines. A comparative study was performed regarding the recommendations in guidelines from different regions as well as of different methodological qualities. Results A total of 27 guidelines concerning pharmacological intervention in simple hypertension were included, involving 6 continents, 13 counties, 3 regions and 3 international organizations. Publication dates ranged from 2003 to 2012. According to the AGREE instrument, 4, 17 and 6 guidelines were graded as Level A, B and C, respectively. There were only 2 domains, “Scope and Purpose” and “Clarity of Presentations”, getting high average scores (more than 60%) among all guidelines. The average scores of guidelines in different domains of AGREE varied with regions. There were 8 evidence-based guidelines which got higher average scores in each domain of AGREE than those of non-evidence-based guidelines. Guidelines varied with the standards of classifying ideal, normal, high normal blood pressure and hypertension. Diuretics were the first agent recommended by all guidelines, and the other recommendations were correlated with age and race. There was a tendency to recommend diuretics as basic drugs in two-drug combination therapy in North America, while calcium channel blockers (CCBs) were the most recommended agents in Asian guidelines. Conclusion The overall methodological quality of simple hypertension guidelines is suboptimal in different countries or regions. The 6 domains involving 23 items in AGREE vary with scores, while the scores of evidence-based guidelines are higher than those of non-evidence-based guidelines. There are differences in the standards of classifying ideal, normal, high normal blood pressure and hypertension. The first-line drug recommendations differ in regions and relate to age and race. Two-drug combination therapy regimens also vary with region.
Objective To investigate the awareness of rational use of drug (RUD) on medical workers in hospitals of different ranks, the establishment and execution of relevant strategies in hospitals of different ranks, and the main factors affecting RUD on medical workers, so as to provide references for the generalization of RUD. Methods A certain number of different ranks of hospitals in Chengdu and Zigong were randomly selected by the convenience sample method. Medical workers in each hospital were selected through face-to-face interviews with a self-designed questionnaire. Monte Carlo Chi-square analysis was applied on the hospital ranks and formulation of RUD guidelines, and logistic regression analysis was performed on the awareness of RUD knowledge of the respondents. Results Among 700 questionnaires distributed, 672 were retrieved (response rate 96.0%). The numbers of respondents who were familiar with the Pharmaceutical Affairs Councils (PACs) as well as the Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committees (PTCs) were 217 (32.29%) and 83 (12.35%), respectively. The number of respondents who understood the concept of essential medicine was 502 (74.71%). A total of 441 (61.16%) medical workers had been trained on RUD, 199 (29.61%) medical workers denied there were PTCs in their hospitals, and 60.71% of the medical workers mentioned that the use of drug was monitored and controlled with the feedback in their hospitals. The result of logistic regression analysis indicated that the professional title (P=0.038), awareness of essential medicine (Plt;0.001) and participation of RUD training (P=0.008) were the factors influencing the awareness of RUD. Conclusion Both management and education should be executed at the same time to elevate the level of rational use of drug. In order to increase the level of RUD we should complete monitoring institution and improving RUD awareness of workers. Additionally enhancing the rationality of medication should be performed by establishing guidelines of treatment or medication. Improving personal knowledge, scientific information and medication custom should be performed by standardizing regulations, strengthening management, emphasizing education and promoting communication between doctors and patients.
Objective To explore the methods used for developing evidence-based clinical practice guidelines for acupuncture. Methods Based on the characteristics of acupuncture in traditional Chinese medicine,and principles of evidence-based medicine, this article introduces and summarizes the processes and methods for developing an evidence-based clinical practice guideline for acupuncture. We analyzed similarities and differences between clinical practice guidelines for acupuncture and for other interventions. We used an evidence-based clinical practice guideline of acupuncture for depression as an example to illustrate the methods of literature search, grading of evidence and recommendations, evidence evaluation and consensus formation. Results Preliminary recommendations on the methods for developing evidence-based clinical practice guidelines for acupuncture were made. Conclusion Based on the optimized rational methodology for developing clinical guidelines, evidence-based high-quality clinical practice guidelines for acupuncture could be established.
To improve proper application of evidence in clinical practice．six relevant problems were reviewed．The problems included：① How to evaluate and use evidence from systenaatic reviews of randomized controlled trials?② How to evaluate and use evidence from randomized controlled trials?③ How to evaluate and use evidence from non—randomized controled trials?④ How to evaluate and use evidence from case series?⑤ How to evaluate and use expert opinions?⑥ How to evaluate and use chnical practice guidelines?
Based-on retrieval and reviewing information of evidence-based clinical practice guidelines from the literature, this paper introduced the key components of assessment guideline quality, including the process of development and reporting of guideline.
Based on the site visit on the current application and practice of evidence-based medicine in USA, we find the difference between China and USA so as to further promote and plan the development of evidence-based medicine in China.