Factors Associated With High-Quality Guidelines for the Pharmacologic Management of Chronic Diseases in Primary Care: A Systematic Review.

Importance: As the rate of publication of new and sometimes conflicting medical research increases, clinicians rely heavily on clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) to inform practice. However, CPGs are of widely variable quality, and there are no existing objective measures to rate the quality of CPGs. Objective: To systematically assess 421 CPGs for the management of common noncommunicable diseases in primary care using the validated Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation Instrument, version II (AGREE-II) tool and elucidate the factors associated with quality of CPGs. Evidence Review: MEDLINE, Embase, the Cochrane Library, and 12 websites for CPGs were searched for CPGs for the management of common noncommunicable diseases in primary care published between January 1, 2011, and August 30, 2017. The assessment of the quality of CPGs was performed by 3 appraisers using the 6 domains of the AGREE-II instrument. A multiple logistic regression was performed to identify factors associated with quality of CPGs. Findings: Of the 421 CPGs reviewed, 23.5% (99) were classified as high quality. Among included guidelines, clarity of presentation (70%) and scope and purpose (61%) had the highest median AGREE-II scores. The domains with the lowest median scores were applicability (22%) and rigor of development (33%). Factors associated with high-quality CPGs included having more than 20 authors (odds ratio, 9.08; 95% CI, 3.35-24.62), development at governmental institutions (odds ratio, 10.38; 95% CI, 2.72-39.60), and reporting funding (odds ratio, 10.34; 95% CI, 4.77-22.39). Year of publication, region, guideline version, and scope were not associated with quality among included CPGs. Conclusions and Relevance: Primary care professionals and policymakers should be aware that CPGs in primary care are of widely variable quality, with less than 25% of included CPGs rated as high quality. High-quality CPGs were associated with a higher number of authors, governmental institutions, and the report of funding. Region of origin was not associated with quality of CPGs, which suggests that the improvement of the quality of CPGs should be an international concern.

Clinical practice guidelines for surgical antimicrobial prophylaxis: Qualitative appraisals and synthesis of recommendations.

RATIONALE, GOALS, AND OBJECTIVES: Clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) for preoperative care have been developed for surgical antimicrobial prophylaxis (SAP). The objective of this study was to synthetize recommendations for SAP based on best-evaluated CPGs. METHODS: A systematic literature search for documents related to SAP, published between January 2011 and December 2016, was conducted on MEDLINE (PubMed), EMBASE, and specific CPG websites. Three reviewers independently assessed the rigour of development and editorial independence of CPGs based on domains 3 and 6 of the Appraisal of Guidelines for Research & Evaluation II (AGREE II) instrument. CPGs with domain 3 scores of 50% and greater were selected for synthesis of recommendations. Two reviewers independently extracted CPG recommendations from among these documents. A third reviewer performed the synthesis of recommendations. RESULTS: The search retrieved 363 documents, of which 29 CPGs were appraised using AGREE II. Only eight (28%) scored 50% and greater in domain 3. Most CPGs addressed topics related to preoperative care, including SAP. No conflicting recommendations were found, and most recommendations were based on clinical practice. The only recommendation for which there was a difference among CPGs was with respect to the time to initiate the administration of antibiotics (1 hour before or close to the time of the surgical incision). Four CPGs provide recommendations that demonstrate concern about inadequate SAP prolongation. CONCLUSION: Several CPGs for SAP were developed without the desired methodological rigour or transparency. Synthesis of recommendations for best-evaluated CPGs provides a broad approach owing to the complementarity of the recommendations.

Matriz de recomendações para farmacoterapia da osteoporose e da osteoartrite: recurso para subsidiar a adaptação de guias de prática clínica / Matrix of recommendations for osteoporosis and osteoarthritis pharmacotherapy: A resource to subsidize the adaptation process of clinical practice guidelines for the treatment of osteoporosis and osteoarthritis

A osteoporose e a osteoartrite são doenças crônicas não transmissíveis (DCNT), multifatoriais, de longa duração e que tem na idade um fator agravante. Não possuem cura, somente tratamentos não farmacológicos e farmacológicos para amenizar suas consequências. Para auxiliar os profissionais na assistência desses pacientes, são elaborados guias de prática clínica (GPC), que precisam ser preparados respeitando preceitos de alto rigor científico e para tanto, requerem tempo, suporte financeiro e participação de equipe multiprofissional. Uma opção é a adaptação desses documentos a partir de documentos existentes. Este trabalho teve como o objetivo criar matrizes de recomendações baseadas em GPC de alta qualidade. Para a elaboração das matrizes, utilizou-se as duas primeiras fases do método ADAPTE: Configuração e Adaptação. A fase de Configuração foi planejada e registrada pelo grupo de pesquisa Chronic Diseases and Informed Decisions (CHRONIDE), Brasil, no Próspero. Para a fase de Adaptação, realizou-se uma busca sistemática, utilizando os seguintes critérios de elegibilidade: documentos que continham recomendações para o tratamento farmacológico da osteoporose (OP) e da osteoartrite (OA) em atenção primária, publicados em português, espanhol ou inglês e publicados no período de 01/2011 a 12/2016, todas as etapas do processo foram avaliadas por três avaliadores de forma independente. Foram encontrados 43 GPC de OP e 23 GPC de OA, analisados quanto à qualidade por meio do instrumento Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation (AGREE II), sendo considerados de alta qualidade os GPC que apresentaram 60% ou mais no domínio 3. Apenas 10 GPC de OP e 07 GPC de OA considerados de alta qualidade, foram utilizados para a elaboração das matrizes das duas doenças. A matriz para OP permitiu evidenciar que a alternativa mais sugerida de tratamento são os bifosfonatos e para OA, os antiinflamatórios não esteroidias (AINEs), especialmente o acetaminofeno. Os achados também mostraram que a maioria dos GPC apresentou limitações, principalmente, quanto à qualidade, implementação, participação de outros profissionais, assim como de pacientes, e independência editorial, indicando a necessidade de aprimoramento no momento da elaboração, adoção ou adaptação dos GPC. Todavia, foi possível identificar GPC de alta qualidade suficientes para elaborar as duas matrizes, o que pode subsidiar possíveis elaborações de futuros protocolos locais e cuidados aos pacientes

Osteoporosis (OP) and osteoarthritis (OA) are chronic non-communicable diseases (CNCDs), i.e., multifactorial, long-lasting and with age as an aggravating factor. None has cure, and only non-pharmacological and pharmacological treatments to mitigate their effects. In order to support health professionals in terms of the best treatments for both diseases, Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPG) contains recommendations that must be elaborated with high methodological rigor, requiring time, financial support and multiprofessional team. An option is to adapt existing CPG that have been rigorously developed. This study aimed to create a matrix of recommendations based on high quality CPG. The ADAPTE process was used, but only the first two phases: Configuration and Adaptation. The Configuration phase was planned and registered by the Chronic Diseases and Informed Decisions group (CHRONIDE), Brazil, in PROSPERO. For the Adaptation phase, a systematic search was performed using the following eligibility criteria: documents that contained recommendations for the pharmacological treatment of OP and OA in primary care, published in Portuguese, Spanish or English, from 01/01/2011 to 12/31/2016, all stages of the processes were assessed by three independent reviewers. 43 CPG OP and 23 CPG of OA were retrieved and had their quality assessed by the Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation II (AGREE II) instrument. Only ten CPG for OP treatment, and seven GPC for OA treatment were considered high quality and had their recommendations extracted and synthesized in two separate matrices. Biphosphonates were the most suggested pharmacological treatment for OP and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), especially acetaminophen, for OA. Findings also showed that the majority of CPG had limitations, mainly regarding their quality, implementation, multiprofessional team, as weel as patients, and editorial independence, indicating the need for improvement. However, the findings made it possible to create two matrices to support future elaboration of local protocols and patient care.