Adherence to reporting guidelines contributes to report methodology and outcomes of research distinctly and transparently. There are some checklists with specific study types related to surgery on the EQUATOR Network’s website. However, the IDEAL framework focuses on stepwise evaluation of surgical innovation through all stages with some key elements, which those existing guidelines may not mention. This likely results in the inaccuracy in reporting in studies attempting to follow the IDEAL recommendations and suggests a pressing need for IDEAL reporting guidelines. Considering these limitations, the IDEAL developed the IDEAL reporting guidelines between October 2018 and May 2019. The paper aimed to provide interpretation of IDEAL reporting guideline, and promote its understanding and use among Chinese researchers.
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.
In the process of formation of recommendations of clinical practice guidelines, experts have many difficult problems of lack of transparency and high subjectivity in making final decisions, such as incomplete comprehensive consideration of dimensions and great heterogeneity in the evaluation of importance between dimensions, etc. As a decision-making tool, multi-criterion decision analysis improves the decision-making level of recommendation by adding the combination of qualitative and quantitative methods. By analyzing the challenges facing the formation of recommendations, this paper introduces the decision assistance of multi-criterion decision, and analyzes and summarizes the advantages and methods of the application of multi-criterion decision, so as to provide reference and guidance for guide makers to solve the difficulties in the formation of recommendations.
Mitral valve replacement is one of the most common heart valve surgeries in China. In recent years, with the increase in degenerative valve diseases, older patients, and the progress of anti-calcification technology of biological valves, the proportion of mitral valve biological valve replacement has been increasing year by year. After the damage of traditional mitral valve biological valves, re-operation of valve replacement with thoracotomy is required. However, the adhesion between the heart and sternum, as well as the damage caused by cardiopulmonary bypass and cardiac arrest, can cause significant trauma to elderly patients and those with multiple organ dysfunction, leading to increased mortality and complication rates. In recent years, interventional valve surgery, especially transcatheter valve-in-valve surgery, has developed rapidly. This procedure can correct the damaged mitral valve function without stopping the heart, but there are still many differences between its technical process and conventional aortic valve replacement surgery. Therefore, organizing and writing multicenter expert recommendations on the technical process of transcatheter valve-in-valve surgery for damaged mitral valve biological valves is of great significance for the training and promotion of this technology.
In order to monitor the emotional state changes of audience on real-time and to adjust the music playlist, we proposed an algorithm framework of an electroencephalogram (EEG) driven personalized affective music recommendation system based on the portable dry electrode shown in this paper. We also further finished a preliminary implementation on the Android platform. We used a two-dimensional emotional model of arousal and valence as the reference, and mapped the EEG data and the corresponding seed songs to the emotional coordinate quadrant in order to establish the matching relationship. Then, Mel frequency cepstrum coefficients were applied to evaluate the similarity between the seed songs and the songs in music library. In the end, during the music playing state, we used the EEG data to identify the audience’s emotional state, and played and adjusted the corresponding song playlist based on the established matching relationship.
During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemics, universities take responsibility for the health of their students and epidemic control. Our urgent recommendation focuses on four key questions of emergency management in universities following rigorous evidence-based approaches and provides timely suggestions to university managers, academic faculties and student affairs managers. We recommend universities during the COVID-19 epidemics should: 1) suspend offline lectures; 2) provide proper health education on the disease; 3) encourage face masks, however oppose using N95 masks on the campus; 4) encourage hand hygiene and provide sanitizing products on the campus.
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.
IDEAL framework and recommendations provide a scientific and integrated evaluation pathway for surgical innovations and other complex therapeutic interventions, and underline that the preliminary studies are needed to prepare for a successful randomized controlled trial. IDEAL framework provides a series of recommendations in terms of nature stages of surgical innovation. We have reported the introduction and reporting guidelines of the IDEAL framework and recommendations in our IDEAL series paper. This paper aimed to provide some empirical evidence, focusing specifically on stages 2a and 2b, to help surgeons and researchers to understand how to imply IDEAL framework and recommendations into their clinical practice.
Evidence grading and recommendation strength assessment are key steps in the development of evidence-based guidelines, and have made significant progress in recent years. This article systematically reviews the development and evolution of evidence grading and recommendation strength in the past 30 years, and introduces the main representative standards. At the same time, a brief introduction is given to the guidelines and consensus evaluation results published in the field of neurological diseases in China, and future improvements are proposed. This article aims to help readers understand the development patterns of evidence grading and recommendation strength, in order to better understand the guidelines, and to develop more standardized guidelines.
The prevention and control of COVID-19 has entered a critical moment. “Disease control of 2019 novel coronavirus infection in hospital: West China urgent recommendation” based on the best available evidence and expert experience, provided emergency recommendations for key clinical issues in hospital prevention and control during the COVID-19 epidemic. This recommendation with strong reference value and timeliness is worth learning for hospital managers, sensory control personnel and medical staff at all levels. All medical institutions should establish an emergency response mechanism to accelerate the formation of medical teams and strengthen the protection of medical staff and hospital infection control. We should enhance the implementation of policy and reinforce risk assessment. It is essential to strengthen the implementation of various prevention and control measures as well as risk assessment so as to eventually win the battle of coronavirus infection as soon as possible.