Evaluation of and perspectives on guidelines: what is important?

Tan et al. critically appraised the quality of eight guidelines for the treatment of psoriasis published by five working groups between 2006 and 2009, using the Appraisal of Guidelines Research and Evaluation (AGREE) instrument. Four groups used the standards established by the AGREE instrument. All guidelines received high scores for "scope and purpose" and "clarity and presentation," but each of the guidelines was found to have important shortcomings in at least one item, including "stakeholder involvement," "development rigor," "applicability," and "editorial independence." The investigators conclude that, despite the use of predefined standards in their development, important deficiencies exist in the most recent clinical treatment guidelines for psoriasis.