Translation of benign prostatic hyperplasia guidelines into clinical practice

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: The aim of this article is to describe the current position of clinical practice guidelines for benign prostatic hyperplasia in daily management and identify the potential barriers that may hinder the implementation of guidelines into clinical practice. RECENT FINDINGS: Recent studies have attempted to compare and grade benign prostatic hyperplasia clinical practice guidelines using appraisal instruments underlining the issues of quality and updates of guidelines. Surveys have evaluated the adoption of guidelines from the urological community and recent studies have made major contributions to our knowledge of the translation of evidence to daily practice. SUMMARY: Numerous clinical practice guidelines (both national and international) for benign prostatic hyperplasia exist. High methodological quality clinical practice guidelines are likely to be the most beneficial to patients and strength of recommendations depends on available evidence. Efforts to implement guidelines are not always successful and a considerable variation especially in diagnostic assessment of benign prostatic hyperplasia has been reported. Difficulties in translation of benign prostatic hyperplasia guidelines into clinical practice are related to lack of knowledge but also to differences in routine practices, beliefs, cost, availability, and reimbursement policy. Bridging the implementation gap represents a challenging task for clinical practice guideline supporters.     

Wie eine Leitlinie entsteht

Practitioners often doubt the sense of clinical practice guidelines. This may be caused by uncertainty about the methodological quality of guidelines and conflicts of interests of guideline authors and guideline publishers. However, the discrepancy between intentions of guideline developers and perceptions of (potential) guideline users may also be caused by different ideas about the features of a ??good?? guideline and the prospects and boundaries of their application in practice. To improve guideline acceptance and implementation, a systematic and methodically sound approach in guideline development is necessary. Key elements are stakeholder and patient involvement, systematic appraisal of the available evidence, and the application of formal consensus methods to agree on recommendations. In addition, the impact of guidelines depends on topic selection (i.e., the need for quality improvement), content validity, accessibility, applicability, and acceptance. Finally, to assess the sense of a specific guideline, its implications on processes and outcomes of care need to be monitored.     

An updated overview of clinical guidelines for the management of non-specific low back pain in primary care

The aim of this study was to present and compare the content of (inter)national clinical guidelines for the management of low back pain. To rationalise the management of low back pain, evidence-based clinical guidelines have been issued in many countries. Given that the available scientific evidence is the same, irrespective of the country, one would expect these guidelines to include more or less similar recommendations regarding diagnosis and treatment. We updated a previous review that included clinical guidelines published up to and including the year 2000. Guidelines were included that met the following criteria: the target group consisted mainly of primary health care professionals, and the guideline was published in English, German, Finnish, Spanish, Norwegian, or Dutch. Only one guideline per country was included: the one most recently published. This updated review includes national clinical guidelines from 13 countries and 2 international clinical guidelines from Europe published from 2000 until 2008. The content of the guidelines appeared to be quite similar regarding the diagnostic classification (diagnostic triage) and the use of diagnostic and therapeutic interventions. Consistent features for acute low back pain were the early and gradual activation of patients, the discouragement of prescribed bed rest and the recognition of psychosocial factors as risk factors for chronicity. For chronic low back pain, consistent features included supervised exercises, cognitive behavioural therapy and multidisciplinary treatment. However, there are some discrepancies for recommendations regarding spinal manipulation and drug treatment for acute and chronic low back pain. The comparison of international clinical guidelines for the management of low back pain showed that diagnostic and therapeutic recommendations are generally similar. There are also some differences which may be due to a lack of strong evidence regarding these topics or due to differences in local health care systems. The implementation of these clinical guidelines remains a challenge for clinical practice and research.     

Introduction: guidelines and advisory development

Since 1992, the American Society of Anesthesiologists has produced 12 evidence-based practice guidelines, 2 practice advisories, and 3 guideline updates. These documents have assisted anesthesiologists and practitioners in many other specialties. Their brevity, practicality, and ease of use, coupled with a thorough and systematic evaluation of the evidence have been instrumental in bringing together the science and practice of medicine. The application of formal evidence-collection processes for literature and opinion and efficient analytic evaluations combine with the experience and practical knowledge of clinicians to produce widespread application of the guidelines.The evidence-based process developed by the ASA has been found to be adaptable to a wide variety of issues relating to clinical practice. The goal is to systematically collect and evaluate evidence from multiple sources and apply it ina comprehensive manner to the guideline recommendations. The ASA guideline and advisory development process is continuing to evolve in response to changes in medical technology, research, and practice. By providing synthesized evidence from multiple sources and robust clinical recommendations the ASA offers the practice of anesthesiology, an invaluable bridge between science and clinical practice.     

Review article: The role of practice guidelines and evidence-based medicine in perioperative patient safety

Purpose

The purpose of this narrative review is to discuss the impact of clinical practice guidelines on the outcomes of care and patient safety.

Principal findings

The care provided to patients has a high degree of variability, including some care that is discordant with available evidence. This inconsistency has implications for patient safety as some patients receive care that is unlikely beneficial yet may be harmful, while others are denied care that would clearly be helpful. The medical literature is expanding at an alarming rate; its quality and reliability is often poor; study methodology is frequently suboptimal, and reversal is common, even among frequently cited articles. For decades, specialty societies and other agencies have been providing clinical practice guidelines to assist physicians with the integration of evidence into clinical decision-making. Implementation of guidelines has been variable, and their goals are often not achieved due to failed uptake and application. The reasons for this shortcoming are complex and some explanations are valid. Many guidelines have not been evidence-based and many have been methodologically unsound. Physician autonomy likely also plays an important role in guideline uptake; an updated concept of autonomy that embraces appropriate guidelines is long overdue.

Conclusions

Under certain conditions, guidelines can add value to care and improve outcomes; they need to be evidence-based, methodologically sound, and appropriately applied to patients and clinical scenarios. Simply summarizing evidence in a guideline is an inadequate process. To achieve the benefit of guidelines, implementation strategies need to be robust.     

High-intensity focused ultrasound for prostate cancer: a practice guideline

Objective:

The aim of this practice guideline was to develop evidence-based recommendations for clinicians on the use of high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) in patients with localized prostate cancer.

Methods:

The guideline was developed using the methods of Cancer Care Ontario’s Program in Evidence-Based Care (PEBC). The core methodology of the PEBC’s guideline development process is systematic review. A comprehensive literature search was undertaken to identify high-quality studies, reviews and other practice guidelines on the use of HIFU in prostate cancer. The evidence formed the basis of the recommendations, which were reviewed and amended where necessary, by clinical experts in medical and radiation oncology and urology.

Results:

The literature review yielded limited evidence. No randomized controlled trials or meta-analyses comparing HIFU with currently accepted management approaches were identified. The body of evidence is primarily based on data from case series. Internal feedback was provided by the PEBC Genitourinary Disease Site Group membership and the Report Approval Panel. External peer review included targeted review by clinical experts specifically requested to comment on the guideline, and professional consultation through an online survey of health care professionals.

Conclusion:

HIFU is currently not recommended as an alternative to accepted curative treatment approaches for localized prostate cancer.     

Utilization of incontinence clinical practice guidelines.

Clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) are evidence-based recommendations for best practice and have been developed with the assumption they will be embraced by practitioners; a further assumption is that clinical practice guidelines will improve the delivery of care. In this article, we provide a working definition of evidence-based practice, discuss the strengths and limitations of CPGs, describe the implementation of CPGs in the context of urinary incontinence, and consider the steps that the WOCN has taken to initiate evidence-based practice. Current issues are presented along with initiatives that have resulted in clinical practice guidelines on incontinence from the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada. On the basis of the current literature, it is concluded that clinical practice guidelines can play an important role in WOCN practice and that the implementation of guidelines may improve clinical practice. However, guidelines are only as valid as the evidence on which they are based and may not take into account gender or cultural differences or the effect that comorbid conditions can have on treatment outcomes. Finally, guidelines must follow a comprehensive approach that involves management and staff and includes education, facilitation, evaluation, feedback, and an understanding of change strategies.     

Clinical practice guidelines in end-stage renal disease: a strategy for implementation

Clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) for end-stage renal failure (ESRD) were recently published, and represent a comprehensive review of available literature and the considered judgment of experts in ESRD. To prioritize and implement these guidelines, the evidence underlying each guideline should be ranked and the attributes of each should be defined. Strategies to improve practice patterns should be tested. Focused information for each high priority guideline should be disseminated, including a synopsis and assessment of the underlying evidence, the evidence model used to develop that guideline, and suggested strategies for CPG implementation. Clinical performance measures should be developed and used to measure current practice, and the success of changing practice patterns on clinical outcomes. Individual practitioners and dialysis facilities should be encouraged to utilize continuous quality improvement techniques to put the guidelines into effect. Local implementation should proceed at the same time as a national project to convert high priority CPGs into clinical performance measures proceeds. Patients and patient care organizations should participate in this process, and professional organizations must make a strong commitment to educate clinicians in the methodology of CPG and performance measure development and the techniques of continuous quality improvement. Health care regulators should understand that CPGs are not standards, but are statements that assist practitioners and patients in making decisions.     

A comparison of clinical practice guidelines for proximal femoral fracture

Clinical practice guidelines are designed to assist clinical decision‐making by summarising evidence and forming recommendations. The number of available guidelines is vast and they vary in relevance and quality. We reviewed guidelines relevant to the management of a patient with a fractured neck of femur and explored similarities and conflicts between recommendations. As guidelines are often produced in response to an area of clinical uncertainty, recommendations differ. This can result in a situation where the management of a particular clinical problem will depend upon which guideline is followed. We explore the reasons for such differences.     

VA Practice Patterns and Practice Guidelines for Treating Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Little is known about how recent ISTSS practice guidelines (E. B. Foa, T. M. Keane, & M. J. Friedman, 2000) compare with prevailing PTSD treatment practices for veterans. Prior to guideline dissemination, clinicians in 6 VA medical centers were surveyed in 1999 (n = 321) and in 2001 (n = 271) regarding their use of various assessment and treatment procedures. Practices most consistent with guideline recommendations included psychoeducation, coping skills training, attention to trust issues, depression and substance use screening, and prescribing of SSRIs, anticonvulsants, and trazodone. PTSD and trauma assessment, anger management, and sleep hygiene practices were provided less consistently. Exposure therapy was rarely used. Additional research is needed on training, clinical resources, and organizational factors that may influence VA implementation of guideline recommendations.     

Factors influencing hospital implementation of acute pain management practice guidelines.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To identify factors that may influence the implementation of acute pain management guidelines in hospital settings. DESIGN: Two questionnaire surveys. SETTING: Healthcare Association of New York State, Albany, NY. MEASUREMENT: The surveys were administered to 220 hospitals in New York State regarding their acute pain management practices and resources available. One survey was addressed to each hospital's chief executive officer (CEO) and the second survey was addressed to the clinical director of the Department of Anesthesiology or Acute Pain Service. The barriers and incentives to guideline implementation identified by CEOs were analyzed using factor analysis. Logistic regression was employed to determine predictors of guideline implementation by linking the CEOs' survey data with the clinical directors' report of guideline usage. MAIN RESULTS: According to clinical directors, only 27% of the responding hospitals were using a published pain management practice guideline. Factors predictive of guideline implementation include resource availability and belief in the benefits of using guidelines to improve quality of care or to achieve economic/legal advantages. Guideline implementation, however, does not necessarily include applying all key elements recommended by the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (formerly Agency for Health Care Policy and Research) guideline. For example, a collaborative, interdisciplinary approach to pain control was used in only 42% of the hospitals, and underutilization of nonpharmacologic therapies to control pain was widespread. Resource availability, particularly staff with expertise in pain management and existence of a formal quality assurance program to monitor pain management, was significantly predictive of compliance with key guideline elements. CONCLUSIONS: Resource availability significantly influences the implementation of pain management practice guidelines in hospital settings. Implementation is often incomplete because various factors affect the feasibility of individual guideline elements and may explain the varying results that guidelines have had on clinical practices.     

2018年美国关节置换术使用氨甲环酸的临床实践指南解读

2018年美国髋关节和膝关节外科医师协会(AAHKS),美国骨科医师协会(AAOS),髋关节学会(THS),膝关节学会(TKS)及美国局部麻醉与疼痛医学学会(ASRA)共同协作,针对氨甲环酸(TXA)在全关节置换术(TJA)中应用的有效性和安全性进行了循证研究,就氨甲环酸给药的方式、剂量和时机以及在血栓形成高风险患者中的使用等提出了推荐意见,并根据证据支持强度对推荐意见进行了分级。本文对该指南进行解读,旨在为中国的骨科医务工作者、患者、医疗管理人员和指南制定者提供参考。     

Knowledge transfer in family physicians managing patients with acute low back pain: a prospective randomized control trial.

BACKGROUND CONTEXT: The process through which new scientific developments are incorporated into clinical practice is referred to as "knowledge transfer" and is currently the subject of great interest in many areas of clinical medicine. Family physicians managing patients with acute low back pain have been shown to have a poor overall rate of concordance with clinical practice guideline-recommended treatments. New methods need to be developed to help physicians bridge the guideline implementation gap. PURPOSE: To determine the efficacy of a knowledge transfer method that communicates clinical practice guidelines to family physicians and their patients using patient-specific, physician-to-physician communications. STUDY DESIGN: A prospective randomized controlled study. PATIENT SAMPLE: 428 patients with acute mechanical low back pain and accepted Workers' Compensation Board claims were studied. OUTCOME MEASURES: Concordance with specific clinical practice guideline-derived history taking items, physical examination procedures and treatment recommendations was determined. METHODS: Patients with acute mechanical back pain of less than 4 weeks duration and accepted Workers' Compensation Board claims were randomly assigned to one of three groups. In Group 1 (control group) neither the patients nor their family physicians received any information concerning the guidelines. In Group 2, family physicians alone or as well as their patients (Group 3) received a summary of clinical practice guidelines at approximately 2 weeks postinjury. In addition, both Groups 2 and 3 received reminders summarizing the recommended guidelines for patients at three specific stages of their clinical course. All guideline correspondence was addressed to a specific family physician or patient, signed by the study physician-investigators, and specified the patient by name. RESULTS: Family physicians in the control and intervention groups demonstrated a high degree of concordance with the guideline-recommended history taking and physical examination procedures, but were generally highly discordant with guideline-recommended treatments. Significant improvement in guideline-concordant treatments was seen only with diminished recommendations of prolonged bed rest and passive therapies and an increase in recommended aerobic exercise. Concordance with guideline recommendations relating to the use of spinal manipulative therapy was poor in all study groups. CONCLUSIONS: A knowledge transfer method that involved patient-specific, physician-to-physician communication to family physicians or their patients at three stages of the patient's clinical course was largely unsuccessful in improving concordance with guideline treatment recommendations.     

绝经后骨质疏松症中医临床实践指南编制要点解读

为了使指南使用者了解绝经后骨质疏松症中医临床实践指南的编制过程,笔者针对编制过程中的要点问题予以解读。主要包括4项内容,分别是临床问题/结局指标的收集与遴选、证据获取、证据质量评价、推荐意见形成。其中,临床问题的收集与遴选分为3轮,第一轮是广泛收集本指南需要解决的临床问题,第二轮是对第一轮收集的临床问题进行重要性评分,第三轮是通过共识会议法,最终确定19个临床问题及结局指标。证据获取方面,首先检索中英文数据库,然后进行文献的合并与查重,文献的初筛,文献的分类、再筛选,最终纳入系统评价1篇,随机对照研究114篇。证据质量评价及推荐意见形成均按照GRADE原则完成。推荐意见形成过程中,需要注意虽然中医药文献的证据质量普遍偏低,但并不等于中药本身的疗效不佳。需要专家结合临床经验进行全面评估,形成推荐意见。本编制要点解读可使绝经后骨质疏松症中医临床实践指南的制定更加公开透明,并为今后中医临床实践指南的制定提供参考。     

Treatment of steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome in children: new guidelines from KDIGO

Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) recently published the clinical practice guideline on glomerulonephritis (GN) to assist the practitioner caring for patients with GN. Chapter 4 of the guideline focuses on managing children aged 1–18 years with steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome (SRNS), defined by an inability to achieve complete remission with corticosteroid therapy. Guideline development followed a thorough evidence review, and management recommendations and suggestions were based on the best available evidence. Limitations of the evidence, including the paucity of large-scale randomized controlled trials, are discussed. This article provides both the guideline recommendations and a brief review of relevant treatment trials related to each recommendation. This précis serves as a summary of the complete guidelines recently published.     

Minimally Invasive Management of Pancreatic Abscess, Pseudocyst, and Necrosis: A Systematic Review of Current Guidelines

BACKGROUND: Minimally invasive techniques have been used to manage infected pancreatic necrosis and its local complications, although there are no randomised trials to evaluate these techniques. The aims of this study were to review the scope and quality of recommendations in current clinical practice guidelines on the role of percutaneous catheter drainage and endoscopic techniques for pancreatic abscess, pseudocyst, and infected pancreatic necrosis and identify the degree of consensus between guidelines. METHODS: A MEDLINE search was performed to identify current guidelines from any professional body published in the English language. Guidelines were analysed to determine their specific recommendations for using percutaneous catheter drainage and endoscopic techniques to manage pancreatic abscess, infected pseudocyst, and infected pancreatic necrosis. RESULTS: Sixteen guidelines were reviewed. Percutaneous catheter drainage for pancreatic abscess was recommended by eight guidelines; for infected pseudocysts, one guideline did not recommend its use and six recommended its use; for infected necrosis, two guidelines did not recommend its use and four recommended its use. Endoscopic management of both pancreatic abscess and infected pseudocyst was recommended by seven guidelines; for infected necrosis, endoscopic management was recommended by ten guidelines. Ten guidelines did not include levels of evidence to support their recommendations. CONCLUSIONS: Guidelines lacked consensus in their recommendations for minimally invasive management of pancreatic abscess, infected pseudocyst, and infected necrosis, and few recommendations were graded according to the strength of the evidence. More prospective trials are needed to provide evidence where it is lacking, which should be incorporated into clinical practice guidelines.     

Provider adherence to implementation of clinical practice guidelines for neurogenic bowel in adults with spinal cord injury

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPGs) have been published on a number of topics in spinal cord injury (SCI) medicine. Research in the general medical literature shows that the distribution of CPGs has a minimal effect on physician practice without targeted implementation strategies. The purpose of this study was to determine (a) whether dissemination of an SCI CPG improved the likelihood that patients would receive CPG recommended care and (b) whether adherence to CPG recommendations could be improved through a targeted implementation strategy. Specifically, this study addressed the "Neurogenic Bowel Management in Adults with Spinal Cord Injury" Clinical Practice Guideline published in March 1998 by the Consortium for Spinal Cord Medicine METHODS: CPG adherence was determined from medical record review at 6 Veterans Affairs SCI centers for 3 time periods: before guideline publication (T1), after guideline publication but before CPG implementation (T2), and after targeted CPG implementation (T3). Specific implementation strategies to enhance guideline adherence were chosen to address the barriers identified by SCI providers in focus groups before the intervention. RESULTS: Overall adherence to recommendations related to neurogenic bowel did not change between T1 and T2 (P = not significant) but increased significantly between T2 and T3 (P < 0.001) for 3 of 6 guideline recommendations. For the other 3 guideline recommendations, adherence rates were noted to be high at T1. CONCLUSIONS: While publication of the CPG alone did not alter rates of provider adherence, the use of a targeted implementation plan resulted in increases in adherence rates with some (3 of 6) CPG recommendations for neurogenic bowel management.     

关节腔内注射治疗膝骨关节炎的研究进展

近年应用关节腔内注射药物治疗膝骨关节炎(KOA)一直存在争议。国内外出版过多部指南,对于关节腔内注射药物的推荐强度是不同的,有的甚至相互矛盾,造成广大临床工作者对于这类治疗心存顾虑与疑惑;且缺少国内针对关节腔内注射药物的大样本数据,一定程度上限制了基于国人临床数据产生循证医学指南的可能。随着与国际骨科的接轨,我国学者们越来越重视循证医学指南的产生,在尚缺乏国人临床数据的前提下,试图通过多项专家共识的产生来呼吁更高级别的基础、临床研究的产生,以期更好地服务临床,服务患者。