A critical appraisal of interprofessional clinical practice guidelines for burn care

Evidence-based clinical practice guidelines play a crucial role in supporting clinical decision-making among healthcare providers, policymakers, and administrators by offering structured, research-informed recommendations. Globally, numerous guidelines have been developed for the management of burn injuries, but they vary considerably in terms of quality, structure, and methodological rigor. This study aimed to critically evaluate the quality of existing burn care guidelines from an interprofessional perspective and assess their adaptability for use in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

This appraisal study, conducted between 2024 and 2025, employed the AGREE II instrument to evaluate guideline quality through the lens of an interprofessional burn care team. The methodology involved a systematic search to identify relevant guidelines, the formation of a multidisciplinary panel of burn care professionals, and a final quality appraisal of the selected guidelines using the AGREE II framework.

Out of the 38 initially identified clinical guidelines, 31 were excluded due to failure to meet the preliminary thresholds for quality and methodological validity. The remaining seven guidelines were subjected to a comprehensive evaluation using the 23-item AGREE II instrument, encompassing six key quality domains. The appraisal revealed considerable variability across these domains, with particularly marked disparities in stakeholder involvement, methodological rigor, and practical applicability.

The findings revealed significant heterogeneity in both the structural and content quality of current burn care guidelines. Among the evaluated documents, the guideline developed by the International Society for Burn Injuries (ISBI) achieved the highest AGREE II scores, demonstrating a strong interprofessional focus and relevance to LMICs. The expert panel subsequently endorsed it as the most appropriate candidate for adaptation in resource-constrained settings. These results highlight the urgent need for more robust, interdisciplinary, and context-sensitive burn care guidelines to improve patient outcomes and healthcare delivery globally.