Objective To assess the methodological quality of clinical guidelines and consensus of lupus nephritis, to collect the recommendations of each guideline, and to provide references for clinical decision-making. Methods PubMed, CNKI, and CBM databases and related websites such as NGC, NICE, GIN, SIGN, and Medive were electronically searched from January 2012 to December 2020 to collect the clinical guidelines and expert consensus for lupus nephritis. After consistency evaluation by four evaluators, the methodological quality of the included guidelines or expert consensus was evaluated using AGREE Ⅱ. The relevant recommendations, evidence level, and recommended strength of each guideline in treating lupus nephritis were summarized. Results A total of eight guidelines and two consensus statements were included. Among them, eight guidelines or consensus statements were level B (generally recommended guidelines), and two were level C (non-recommended guidelines). Relevant recommendations mainly gave the corresponding treatment scheme according to the pathological type of lupus nephritis. Conclusion The methodological quality of lupus nephritis guideline formulation in China needs to be improved. The included guidelines and consensus can provide reference for clinical decision-makers. However, higher-quality clinical practice guidelines for the Chinese population are needed to be developed in the future.
ObjectivesTo assess the methodological quality of clinical practice guidelines of cervical cancer in China published from 2014 to 2018.MethodsCNKI, WanFang Data, CBM, VIP, Medlive.cn, the National Guideline Clearinghouse, PubMed, The Cochrane Library and EMbase were searched for cervical cancer clinical practice guidelines published in China from January 1st, 2014 to December 31st, 2018. Four reviewers searched and selected the literature independently according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria and assessed the methodological quality of the included guidelines by using AGREE Ⅱ.ResultsA total of 9 guidelines were included. The average score for each area was: scope and purpose 75.47%, stakeholders’ involvement 35.09%, the rigor of development 43.70%, clarity of presentation 87.74%, applicability 80.76%, and editorial independence 0%.ConclusionsThe quality of cervical cancer clinical practice guidelines in China requires further improvement.
ObjectivesTo evaluate the methodological quality of guidelines for pharmacological intervention of migraine in adults, to compare and analyze the differences in first-line drug recommendations in different regions and quality levels, so as to explore the evidence of drug recommendations, and provide a basis for clinical decision-making.MethodsPubMed, The Cochrane Library, EMbase, SinoMed, CNKI, VIP, and WanFang Data databases, Up To Date, as well as the related books, Yimaitong, Guideline Central, Guidelines International Network (GIN) and National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) were systematically searched to collect pharmacological intervention guidelines of migraine in adults from inception to January 12th, 2020. The methodological quality of the guidelines was evaluated by Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation Ⅱ (AGREE Ⅱ).ResultsA total of 25 guidelines were included (including 22 evidence-based guidelines), covering 10 countries on 4 continents and World Health Organization (WHO) with a time span of 1997 to 2019. According to AGREE Ⅱ, 5 were A-level guidelines, 18 were B-level guidelines, and 2 were C-level guidelines. Scope and purpose, rigour of development, clarity of presentations and editorial independence obtained high average scores (more than 60%) among all 25 guidelines. The average scores of guidelines in different domains of AGREE Ⅱ varied with regions and countries. Triptans and NSAIDs were the most frequently recommended as first-line drugs for the acute management; beta-blockers and antiepileptic drugs were recommended for the first-line prevention drugs of migraine in adults. There were 2 guidelines that recommended complementary treatments, one recommended traditional Chinese medicine and another recommended herbal butterbur.ConclusionsThe methodological quality of the pharmacological intervention guidelines of migraine in adults is suboptimal among different regions or countries. The quality of evidence-based guidelines is superior to that established by consensus. The consistency of first-line drug recommendations is strong, but there are still regional differences. The therapeutic effect of traditional Chinese medicine requires further verification.
ObjectiveTo assess the methodological quality of guidelines for bronchoscopic alveolar lavage. MethodsCNKI, VIP, WanFang Data, CBM, Web of Science, PubMed, EMbase databases and medlive.cn, the National Guideline Clearinghouse (NGC), the National Guideline International Network (GIN), the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN), the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE), and the World Health Organization (WHO) websites were electronically searched to collect guidelines of bronchoscopic alveolar lavage from inception to December 2020. Two reviewers independently screened literature, extracted data, and assessed the methodological quality of the guidelines by using AGREE Ⅱ tool. ResultsA total of 19 guidelines were included, with 5 from China, 5 from the USA, 3 from Europe, 2 from the UK, 1 from Australia, 1 from Israel, 1 from Spain, and 1 from India. The average standard score rates of the 19 guidelines in the six fields were 50.73% for scope and purpose, 20.02% for participants, 15.13% for formulation rigor, 36.40% for clarity of presentation, 3.51% for applicability, and 22.37% for editorial independence.ConclusionsThe quality of bronchoalveolar lavage guidelines remains relatively low.
ObjectiveTo systematically review the methodological quality of Chinese clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) for diagnosis and management of diabetic foot.MethodsCNKI, WanFang Data, VIP, CBM, Yimaitong databases, website of Diabetes Branch of Chinese Medical Association, website of Chinese Integrative Medicine Association and website of Peripheral Vascular Disease Professional Committee of Chinese Society of Microcirculation were electronically searched to collect relevant CPGs from inception to May, 2020. Four researchers independently evaluated the CPGs methodological quality by using AGREEⅡ tool.ResultsA total of 10 Chinese CPGs for diabetes foot were included. The standardized mean scores for various fields were 75.74% for scope and purpose, 36.58% for stakeholder involvement, 28.61% for rigor of development, 86.30% for clarity and presentation, 43.47% for applicability, and 9.44% for editorial independence. ConclusionsThere are merely a small quantity of diabetic foot guidelines in China, and the methodological quality is insufficient. Therefore, more attention should be focused on the establishment of guidelines in the future, so as to further improve the quality of Chinese diabetic foot guidelines.
Objective To assess the methodological quality of pediatric COVID-19 guidelines using the AGREE Ⅱ. Methods Domestic and foreign pediatric COVID-19 guidelines from inception to 1st Oct 2021 were electronically searched in PubMed, CBM, CNKI, VIP, WanFang Data, Medlive, NGC, GIN, and NICE databases and relevant websites. Two researchers independently assessed the methodological quality of the guidelines by using AGREE Ⅱ. Results A total of 21 guidelines were included. The AGREE Ⅱ results revealed that the average scores of included guidelines in 6 domains (scope and purpose, stakeholder involvement, rigor of development, clarity of presentation, applicability, and editorial independence) were 62.70%, 36.24%, 20.34%, 50.42%, 22.12% and 53.17%, respectively. ConclusionThe methodological quality of pediatric COVID-19 guidelines is poor. Guideline developers should follow the requirements of AGREE Ⅱ in guideline development.
ObjectiveTo evaluate the quality of Chinese guidelines of newborns so as to provide references for the formulation of relevant guidelines for newborns in the future.MethodsCBM, VIP, WanFang Data, CNKI and Medlive databases were systematically searched to collect clinical practice guidelines in neonatal field in China from January 1st, 2000 to June 28th, 2020. Four researchers independently screened literature, extracted data, used AGREEⅡ to evaluate the methodological quality of the guidelines, used RIGHT to evaluate the reporting quality of the guidelines, and analyzed the score and reporting rate of items in each field.ResultsA total of 35 guidelines were included, and the quantity of publications increased annually. The AGREEⅡ score showed that guidelines published after 2017 were rated higher in all areas than that prior to 2017, with clarity scoring highest (82.9%) and editorial independence scoring lowest (15.4%). The RIGHT score showed that guidelines published after 2017 had higher reporting rates in most areas than that prior to 2017. The highest proportion of reported areas was basic information (75.6% vs. 65.0%). Areas with the lowest reporting ratios in the guidelines prior to 2017 were review and quality assurance (0%), while after 2017 were other areas (4.4%).ConclusionsNeonatal guidelines in China have developed rapidly and the quality of the guideline still requires improvement.
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.
ObjectiveTo evaluate the quality of the clinical practice guidelines of acupuncture in China, in order to identify the status quo and challenges in the development of guidelines. MethodsWe evaluated the quality of the 5 clinical practice guidelines of acupuncture in China through the guideline appraisal instrument "Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation Ⅱ" (AGREE Ⅱ). Four appraisers rated 6 domains of each guideline independently. ResultsFrom the assessment with AGREE Ⅱ, the mean scores of the six domains were as follows: "scope and purpose"55%, "stakeholder involvement" 27%, "rigor of development" 4%, "clarity of presentation" 55%, "applicability" 4%, and "editorial independence" 1%. ConclusionThe quantity of acupuncture guidelines is small and their quality is low due to the lack of methodological issues.
Using the AGREE Ⅱ standard, this paper interpretated from methodological perspective of the Korean Guidelines for Appropriate use of cardiac CT which was made by Korean Society of Radiology and the Korean Society of Cardiology.