PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Adrian Baker
AU  - Katharine Young
AU  - Jonathan Potter
AU  - Ira Madan
TI  - A review of grading systems for evidence-based guidelines produced by medical specialties
AID  - 10.7861/clinmedicine.10-4-358
DP  - 2010 Aug 01
TA  - Clinical Medicine
PG  - 358--363
VI  - 10
IP  - 4
4099  - http://www.rcpjournals.org/content/10/4/358.short
4100  - http://www.rcpjournals.org/content/10/4/358.full
SO  - Clin Med2010 Aug 01; 10
AB  - The development of evidence-based guidelines requires scrupulous attention to the method of critical appraisal. Many critical appraisal systems give ‘gold standard’ status to randomised controlled trials (RCTs) due to their ability to limit bias. While guidelines with a prominent research base consisting of RCTs have been well served by such systems, specialist societies with research bases consisting of a wide range of study designs have been at a disadvantage, potentially leading to inappropriately low grades being given for recommendations. A review of the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network, the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation, the Graphic Appraisal Tool for Epidemiology and the National Service Framework for Long Term Conditions grading systems was therefore undertaken. A matrix was developed suggesting the optimum grading system for the type of guideline being developed or question being addressed by a specialist society.