Clinical practice guidelines: what they are, why we need them and how they should be developed through rigorous evaluation

Abstract

The number of available clinical practice guidelines has grown enormously in the recent years, therefore requiring a correct approach and use of them. We present a revision of what guidelines are and serve, how to correctly develop and find them, and how to develop and evaluate them through rigorous scientific methods. Limits and benefits of guidelines are also discussed. An overview about the use of paediatrics' guidelines is finally reported.

The quality of clinical practice guidelines in China: a systematic assessment

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Direct access cancer testing in primary care: a systematic review of use and clinical outcomes

“…Guidelines, and their underpinning evidence, vary in quality and have been criticised for oversimplifying the complexity of primary care, where undifferentiated symptoms are commonplace and are associated with both minor illness and serious disease. 86,87 However, they do provide a standard of care, to improve service delivery and health outcomes against which to evaluate clinician action. 88 Comparison with existing literature Two randomised controlled trials have investigated DA testing and were not included in this review as they were not investigations for cancer: MRI for knee symptoms (the DAMASK trial) and hysterosalpingography (HSG) for infertility (the OATS trial).…”

Integrating clinical and economic evidence in clinical guidelines: More needed than ever!

“…Evidence‐based clinical guidelines, for which a rising interest can be noticed, may well prove the best instrument to link the macro and micro level. These guidelines are developed, often by medical professionals associations, as a tool to inform clinicians about the current state of knowledge regarding the benefits and limitations of specific technologies for defined health problems . The increasing complexity of health technologies, a growing desire to increase quality of care and reduce variation, and the necessity to control costs, has led to the growing use of clinical guidelines in the last 3 decades .…”