[Quality of Clinical Practice Guidelines for COPD.]

Area of Science:

• Pulmonary Medicine
• Health Services Research
• Clinical Guidelines

Background:

• Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a leading global cause of death and a significant economic burden.
• Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPGs) are crucial for improving COPD care quality but require rigorous methodological evaluation.
• Assessing the quality of existing Spanish COPD CPGs is essential for their reliable clinical application.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the methodological quality of Clinical Practice Guidelines for COPD published in Spanish.
• To identify strengths and weaknesses in the development and content of these guidelines using the AGREE II instrument.

Main Methods:

• A systematic search identified Spanish COPD CPGs published between 2010 and 2017.
• The Appraisal of Guidelines for Research & Evaluation II (AGREE II) instrument was employed for quality assessment.

Main Results:

• Six guidelines met the inclusion criteria.
• Scores varied significantly across AGREE II domains: Scope and Purpose (55.56-92.59%), Stakeholder Involvement (37.04-79.63%), Rigour of Development (29.86-84.72%), Clarity of Presentation (90.74-100%), Applicability (5.56-63.89%), and Editorial Independence (5.56-94.44%).

Conclusions:

• One guideline achieved a "Very Good" quality score, four were rated "Good", and one was "Low".
• Significant variability in methodological quality suggests a need for improvement in the development and reporting of COPD CPGs in Spanish to ensure clinical utility.