KDOQI clinical practice guidelines and clinical practice recommendations--2006 updates.

In scanning through the KDOQI guidelines for this article, I applaud the Work Group members as there is an emphasis placed on timely education of the patient, their family members, close friends, and/or primary care providers for both HD and PD. We have all seen in our practice setting, how critical education is for our patients. Studies have shown that timely patient education as CKD advances can both improve outcomes and reduce cost. These guidelines certainly emphasize the importance of advocating for education of patients with CKD. We know that we as nephrology nurses are crucial for educating the patient with CKD, the patient with ESRD, family members, and caregivers and for re-enforcing their education.     

Evidence-based clinical practice guidelines

Evidence-based practice is a process, encompassing research utilization, clinical expertise, and appreciation of the unique needs of patients. Clinical practice guidelines are tangible evidence of an environment that fosters evidence-based practice. Development and evaluation of guidelines need to be research-based, and the implementation needs to be styled for the particular organization.     

Consensual validation of clinical practice model practice guidelines

Clinical Practice Model (CPM) Practice Guidelines facilitate the delivery of consistent, high-quality patient care by clarifying nursing services and supporting the practice and documentation of each step of the nursing process. CPM Practice Guidelines are unique because they are part of an integrated interactive systems thinking framework to support professional practice; they are reviewed and improved routinely using multiple sources of data and are used by hundreds of nurses daily throughout the United States and Canada. Guidelines are developed using a rigorous standardized format and process. Consensual validation is an important part of establishing and maintaining the credibility of these Guidelines.     

Cancer-related fatigue: clinical practice versus practice guidelines

Purpose  

This study investigated adherence to treatment guidelines on cancer-related anaemia and fatigue (CRA/CRF) and factors influencing the choice of intervention.     

Finding and evaluating clinical practice guidelines

Clinical practice guidelines are valuable, clinical decision-making aids for preventive, diagnostic, therapeutic, and palliative patient care. This article identifies ways to access clinical practice guidelines and discusses evaluative criteria for identifying gold-standard evidence-based practice guidelines. Finally, clinicians are reminded of crucial questions to ask before applying any guidelines to patient care.     

Evaluating and applying clinical practice guidelines

Clinical practice guidelines (CPG) hold great potential for providing a summary of large volumes of clinical evidence and a related set of practical recommendations. Nurse practitioners should become aware of the range of available CPGs and methods by which they can be evaluated for use. Appropriate evaluation of CPGs should include their overall reliability and validity, as well as their applicability in specific situations. This article provides an overview of an appropriate evaluation method and serves as an introduction to future columns presenting individual CPGs.     

Quality of stroke rehabilitation clinical practice guidelines

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) are systematically developed statements that assist practitioners to provide appropriate evidence-based care. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the quality of currently published CPGs for stroke care and to examine the reliability and validity of the appraisal of guidelines, research and evaluation (AGREE) instrument. METHODS: Multiple databases and Internet resources were searched for stroke care CPGs. Guidelines included were published in English or French from 1998 to 2004 and developed by a group process. Four appraisers evaluated each CPG using the AGREE instrument. The AGREE consists of 23 items, ranked on a 4-point Likert scale, that is organized into six domains. A standardized score is calculated separately for each domain and ranges from 0 to 100. RESULTS: Eight guidelines were identified. The AGREE quality scores were high for the 'scope and purpose' domain (mean +/- SE = 71.2 +/- 5.48, intra-class correlation (ICC) = 0.66), and 'clarity and presentation' (mean +/- SE = 70.6 +/- 4.43, ICC = 0.66). There was wide variation in ratings of 'rigour of development' (mean +/- SE = 60.7 +/- 7.1, ICC = 0.75) and 'stakeholder involvement' (mean +/- SE = 52.6 +/- 7.14, ICC = 0.89). The 'editorial independence' (mean +/- SE = 38.1 +/- 8.72, ICC = 0.88) and 'applicability' (mean +/- SE = 35.1 +/- 4.93, ICC = 0.75) had the lowest scores. CONCLUSIONS: There is considerable variability in quality of stroke care guidelines but stroke guidelines score higher on the AGREE rigour of development domain than CPGs from other medical fields. The Scottish Intercollegiate Guideline Network, Veterans Affairs/Department of Defence, Royal College of Physicians, and the New Zealand Guidelines Group consistently scored the highest across the domains. Stroke rehabilitation clinicians should consider these results in selecting a guideline. CPG development groups can improve their AGREE scores by considering the cost of implementing their CPGs, pilot testing their CPGs, recording conflict of interest of development panel members and providing tools supporting application of their CPGs.