|
|
|
|
Grades of recommendation and levels of evidence (for guidelines)
|
| Ratings used to quantify the strength of recommendations and the quality of scientific evidence. |
|
| Content |
|
For many diseases, guidelines have been developed giving recommendations to help clinicians make treatment decisions. The strength of such recommendations can be quantified by grading. Grades should be determined by the degree of certainty about the trade-off between the benefits and risks associated with a therapy. If a panel of experts is convinced that the evidence for or against a treatment is strong, then strong grades should be attached to the recommendation. Another factor contributing to the grades should be the quality of the underlying scientific evidence. In general, the evidence from randomized trials should be given a higher rating than the evidence from observational studies, and the evidence from two randomized trials that have very consistent results should be given a higher rating than the evidence from two randomized trials with inconsistent results.
Please log in to read or download more content from the professional site
|
|
|