Deck 14: Appraising Recommendations of Clinical Practice Guidelines

Question 1

Which of the following decisions is not part of appraising the recommendations of a clinical practice guideline?

A) Determining if the guideline was produced using a sound process
B) Determining if the guideline is needed by clinicians
C) Determining if the panel producing the guideline had the expertise to do so
D) Determining if the recommendations are applicable to the patient population and setting in which you are considering using it

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Which of the following characteristics of a recommendation is the most important determinant of its credibility?

A) Its specificity
B) Its generalizability
C) The importance of the issue to patients
D) The linkage between the recommendation and the evidence supporting it

Answer 2

D

Question 3

What should you consider when evaluating the clinical significance of a clinical practice guideline recommendation?

A) The soundness of the methodology that produced the recommendation
B) How the recommendation will be received by clinicians
C) The likelihood that implementation of the recommendation will produce good patient outcomes
D) The credentials of the association that produced it

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Your project team reads a guideline that makes recommendations and provides references for the recommendations, but provides no information about how the recommendations were produced. Which statement best describes the degree of confidence your team should have in the recommendations?

A) If the recommendations are clear and specific and citations are provided, your project team should have confidence in them.
B) If the recommendations resonate with the views of those in your agency, your project team should have confidence in them.
C) The guidelines should be judged as having questionable credibility unless the producer provides access to another document or resource regarding the production process.
D) If the authors indicate that a consensus conference was held to produce the guideline, your project team should have confidence in them.

Question 5

Which of the following factors plays a major role in determining that a clinical practice guideline is credible?

A) It is clear that the developers attempted to conduct a systematic review for each important issue the guideline will address and used that evidence to formulate recommendations.
B) Only recommendations that were supported by a majority of the development team were included in the final guideline.
C) Findings with high correlations with patient characteristics were weighted heavily.
D) It is clear that the developers met face to face while developing the guideline and had candid discussion of the issues the guideline will address.

Question 6

Which of the following questions is not part of what needs to be addressed when appraising the credibility of an evidence-based clinical practice guideline?

A) Are the criteria for selecting the research evidence clearly described?
B) Is the evidence supporting each recommendation indicated and/or discussed?
C) Was the process used to formulate the recommendations systematic and free of bias?
D) What population of patients is the guideline intended for?