[AGREE-based evaluation and content analysis of evidence-based clinical practice guidelines for
Li-Hua Guo1, Yuan Ma1, Xiao-Dong Wu1
1Institute of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100700, China.
Objective:
To carry out the methodological quality evaluation and content analysis of the evidence-based clinical practice guidelines for acupuncture-moxibustion in China, and to provide reference for the development and updating of future guidelines.
Methods:
With Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and EvaluationⅡ(AGREEⅡ), 20 evidence-based clinical practice guidelines for acupuncture and moxibustion in China were evaluated from six aspects: scope and purpose, stakeholder involvement, rigour of development, clarity of presentation, applicability and editorial independence. In addition, the contents of 20 guidelines were systematically analyzed, and the characteristics of guidelines were summarized from the aspects of disease selection, operation technology type and safety.
Results:
The scores of six domains were scope and purpose (91.1%), stakeholder involvement (68.5%), rigour of development (68.6%), clarity of presentation (90.3%), applicability (34.5%) and editorial independence (16.7%). The recommendations of the 20 acupuncture guidelines covered common clinical problems such as diagnosis, treatment and precautions, which were in line with the clinical characteristics of acupuncture and moxibustion in terms of content structure.
Conclusion:
The methodology of the evidence-based clinical practice guidelines for acupuncture and moxibustion in China conformed to the requirements of AGREEⅡ on the quality evaluation, and the overall quality was moderate, but the aspects of applicability and editorial independence were still needed to be improved. The contents of recommendations in 20 guidelines were specific and clear, in line with the characteristics of acupuncture and moxibustion, presenting clinical reference value. In the future, in the process of guideline development, the method of developing acupuncture and moxibustion guidelines should be constantly improved to improve the quality of the guidelines; in the meantime, more attention should be paid to the generalization and clinical applicability evaluation.
