Objective To explore the methodological characteristics of Chinese clinical practice guidelines/expert consensus based on usage of GRADE. MethodsCNKI, PubMed, WanFang Data databases, and Medlive.cn were electronically searched to collect Chinese clinical practice guidelines/expert consensus over the past 11 years from January 1st 2010 to December 31st 2020. Four reviewers independently extracted data according to the content of appraisal of guidelines quality evaluation tool AGREE Ⅱ. The clinical practice guidelines/expert consensus were divided into two groups based on whether GRADE was used or not. The changes and development of methodological quality in the past 11 years were explored between the two groups. ResultsIn recent years, the number of clinical practice guidelines/expert consensus which used the GRADE in China had increased annually. The practice guidelines/expert consensus which did not use GRADE had lower methodology quality (P<0.01). ConclusionsThe use of GRADE in clinical practice guidelines/expert consensus requires improvement, and mastering GRADE methodology can effectively improve the methodological quality of the clinical practice guidelines/expert consensus.
ObjectiveTo systematically review the researches on grading criteria for quality of evidence and strength of recommendations of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). MethodsPubMed, EMbase, Web of Science, CNKI, WanFang Data and VIP databases were electronically searched to collect researches on grading criteria for quality of evidence and strength of recommendations of traditional Chinese medicine from inception to June 2021. Two reviewers independently screened literature, extracted data; and then, descriptive analysis was performed using qualitative methods. ResultsA total of 18 studies were included. Specifically, 8 studies presented both the level of evidence and the strength of recommendations, 9 presented the level of evidence, and 1 presented the strength of recommendations. Thirteen studies considered both TCM evidence and modern medical evidence sources, 3 included only evidence from ancient literature, 1 focused only on post-marketing safety evaluation of Chinese medicine, and 1 focused only on real-world studies of TCM. ConclusionCurrently, there are numerous criteria for TCM related quality of evidence and strength of recommendations, and some are developed only for TCM characteristic evidence. Most researchers of TCM guidelines expect to fully value the significance of ancient literature and expert experience or opinion in guideline development.