ObjectivesTo assess the methodological quality of clinical practice guidelines of cervical cancer in China published from 2014 to 2018.MethodsCNKI, WanFang Data, CBM, VIP, Medlive.cn, the National Guideline Clearinghouse, PubMed, The Cochrane Library and EMbase were searched for cervical cancer clinical practice guidelines published in China from January 1st, 2014 to December 31st, 2018. Four reviewers searched and selected the literature independently according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria and assessed the methodological quality of the included guidelines by using AGREE Ⅱ.ResultsA total of 9 guidelines were included. The average score for each area was: scope and purpose 75.47%, stakeholders’ involvement 35.09%, the rigor of development 43.70%, clarity of presentation 87.74%, applicability 80.76%, and editorial independence 0%.ConclusionsThe quality of cervical cancer clinical practice guidelines in China requires further improvement.
ObjectivesTo assess the quality of clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) for diagnosis and management of cough in China, and to provide methodological experiences for updating and developing the evidence-based guideline in this field in future. MethodsWe searched CBM, WanFang Data, VIP and CNKI databases, and Chinese clinical guidelines' website to identify and select CPGs related to cough in China. Four reviewers independently evaluated the quality of eligible guidelines using the Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation (AGREE) Ⅱ instrument. ResultsSix guidelines were included. The mean scores for six AGREE Ⅱ domains were low:scope and purpose 61.1%, stakeholder involvement 26.6%, rigor of development 16.7%, clarity and presentation 58.3%, applicability 11.1%, and editorial independence 0.0%. ConclusionThe quality of guidelines for cough in China is low. More efforts are urgently needed to develop high quality Chinese guidelines using methodologically rigorous development frameworks and strengthen guideline reporting.
Objective To assess the methodological quality of pediatric COVID-19 guidelines using the AGREE Ⅱ. Methods Domestic and foreign pediatric COVID-19 guidelines from inception to 1st Oct 2021 were electronically searched in PubMed, CBM, CNKI, VIP, WanFang Data, Medlive, NGC, GIN, and NICE databases and relevant websites. Two researchers independently assessed the methodological quality of the guidelines by using AGREE Ⅱ. Results A total of 21 guidelines were included. The AGREE Ⅱ results revealed that the average scores of included guidelines in 6 domains (scope and purpose, stakeholder involvement, rigor of development, clarity of presentation, applicability, and editorial independence) were 62.70%, 36.24%, 20.34%, 50.42%, 22.12% and 53.17%, respectively. ConclusionThe methodological quality of pediatric COVID-19 guidelines is poor. Guideline developers should follow the requirements of AGREE Ⅱ in guideline development.
ObjectiveTo assess the methodological quality of guidelines for bronchoscopic alveolar lavage. MethodsCNKI, VIP, WanFang Data, CBM, Web of Science, PubMed, EMbase databases and medlive.cn, the National Guideline Clearinghouse (NGC), the National Guideline International Network (GIN), the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN), the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE), and the World Health Organization (WHO) websites were electronically searched to collect guidelines of bronchoscopic alveolar lavage from inception to December 2020. Two reviewers independently screened literature, extracted data, and assessed the methodological quality of the guidelines by using AGREE Ⅱ tool. ResultsA total of 19 guidelines were included, with 5 from China, 5 from the USA, 3 from Europe, 2 from the UK, 1 from Australia, 1 from Israel, 1 from Spain, and 1 from India. The average standard score rates of the 19 guidelines in the six fields were 50.73% for scope and purpose, 20.02% for participants, 15.13% for formulation rigor, 36.40% for clarity of presentation, 3.51% for applicability, and 22.37% for editorial independence.ConclusionsThe quality of bronchoalveolar lavage guidelines remains relatively low.
Objective To investigate and analyze the past and on-going pro-poor programs related to health equity, and the relevant policies, documents, interventions measures, etc. to improve the China prisoners’ accessibility and utilization of tuberculosis (TB) control services in TB control programs, then evaluate their impacts and influences to provide evidences and suggestions for the further work of TB prevention and treatment. Methods Retrieve published documents about TB prevention and treatment of transient population dating from 1998 to 2008 from MEDLINE, PubMed, CNKI, CBMdisc CDDB and VIP with computers. Simultaneously, a series of interviews was conducted after we got the agreement of the interview people by using non-probability statistics methods. Results A total of 23 documents were retrieved, and they were consonant with the criteria, among which 8 were published and 5 were policy documents. The study on the second document showed the measures that presently applied on TB patients among prisoners in China: find patients through surveys, inspect every prisons and patients going to visit doctors with symptoms; concerning differences between various groups of prisoners, the measure of “classify and instruction, enroll together and treat” was applied; carry out health education in the prisons and so on. After the implement of various measures, the knowledge awareness, discovery rate, accomplishment ratio, cure rate and so on were all improved. The results of the qualitative interviews showed: the TB patients and the doubts among prisoners could be well gotten together and isolated to receive DOTS; doctors were able to receive trainings on TB treatment and take appointment with certificate. Conclusion According to the results of qualitative interviews, the published and the secondary documents, it could be seen that DOTS are well implemented with remarkable effects.
Objective To assess the reporting quality of noninferiority and equivalence randomized controlled trials (RCTs) related to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Methods The noninferiority and equivalence RCTs related to TCM were searched, and the quality of the included RCTs was identified in accordance with the extended version of CONSORT statement which refers to the reporting standard of noninferiority and equivalence RCTs. Results A total of 13 noninferiority and equivalence RCTs were included. Except for the common questions of RCTs in reporting quality, some contents related to noninferiority and equivalence trials in reporting were not enough: a) The title of RCTs did not reflect the most important content of the literature; b) The introduction of background was quite simple. The rationale about noninferiority and equivalence trials, and the effectiveness of positive control were not clearly defined; c) All literatures did not indicate whether the subjects, interventions and outcomes in the noninferiority and equivalence trials were identical or similar to those in previous trials of defining the effectiveness of control treatment; d) Most literatures did not define the critical value of noninferiority and equivalence, and did not estimate the sample size; e) Only half of literature described the statistical methods of noninferiority test and equivalence test; and f) Some literature had mistakes in noninferiority and equivalence conclusion. Conclusion The researchers still need deeper understanding of the theoretical basis of noninferiority and equivalence trials. The reference to the extended version of CONSORT statement, which refers to the reporting standard of noninferiority and equivalence RCTs, is helpful for researchers to identify the key points of the design, performance and reporting of the noninferiority and equivalence RCTs, to lay stress on the related contents of noninferiority and equivalence trial reporting, and to radically improve the reporting quality of such clinical trials.
Objective To evaluate the methodological and reporting quality of clinical guidelines and consensus for adult AIDS. Methods Databases including PubMed, EMbase, Web of Science, CBM, WanFang Data and CNKI were electronically searched and major guideline websites such as GIN, NICE, NGC and Yimaitong were also searched to collect guidelines and consensus for adult AIDS from inception to December 2021. Two researchers independently screened the literature and extracted data according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Four reviewers evaluated the methodological and reporting quality of the included guidelines and consensus by using AGREE Ⅱ and RIGHT, respectively. Results A total of 17 adult AIDS guidelines and consensus were included. The average scores of AGREE Ⅱ in various domains were 59.48% for scope and purpose, 37.17% for stakeholder involvement, 30.76% for rigor of development, 74.75% for clarity of presentation, 35.54% for applicability, and 50.49% for editorial independence. The items with the highest reporting rate among the RIGHT evaluation items were 1a, 1b and 1c (100.00%), followed by 3 and 4 (94.12%), 13a and 13b (88.24%), 7b and 11a (76.47%), and 5 (64.71%), and the remaining items were all reported below 60%. Results of subgroup analysis showed that the clarity of presentation, applicability and editorial independence of the guidelines for adult AIDS expressed in AGREE Ⅱ and the average score of RIGHT were higher than those of the consensuses for adult AIDS; the average scores of guidelines and consensuses based on evidence-based medicine in five domains of AGREE Ⅱ (scope and purpose, stakeholder involvement, rigor of development, clarity of presentation and applicability) and RIGHT were higher than those based on expert opinions or reviews. The foreign guidelines and consensus had higher average scores in the six domains of AGREE Ⅱ and the RIGHT score than the domestic guidelines. Conclusion The methodological quality and reporting quality of the published clinical guidelines and consensuses for adult AIDS is low; in particular, there is a certain gap between the national and international guidelines and consensuses. It is suggested that future guideline developers should refer to international standards, such as AGREE Ⅱ and RIGHT, formulate high-quality guidelines and promote their application to better regulate the diagnosis and treatment of adult AIDS.
Radiomics extracts high-throughput quantitative features from medical images and converts into minable data, in order to utilizes the analysis results of these data to support clinical diagnosis and treatment decisions. In recent years, radiomics has emerged as a significant research method in medical imaging field, while their methodological quality varies. To improve the methodological quality of radiomics research, the METhodological RadiomICs Score (METRICS) was developed by the METRICS working group using an expert consensus process. This tool, which was published in January 2024, comprises 30 items and has been endorsed by the European Society for Medical Imaging Informatics (EuSoMII). With authorization from the METRICS working group, this article introduces and interprets the content of this tool, to promote the understanding and application of METRICS among radiomics researchers in China, and to improve the methodological quality of radiomics research.
Based on previous evidence-based researches and teaching experience, our team conducted literature and book review, and summarized 4 requirements, 1) effect measure calculation and conversion, 2) registration of evidence-based research, 3) evidence-based research database and 4) quality evaluation tools and reporting guidelines. We developed an online platform of evidence-based medicine research helper using the front-end and back-end technology, which can be accessed using www.ebm-helper.cn. Currently, the online tool has included 46 scenarios for effect measure calculation and conversion, introduction of 7 evidence-based research registration platforms, 26 commonly used databases for evidence-based research and 29 quality evaluation tools and reporting guidelines. This online tool can help researchers to solve specific problems encountered in different stages of evidence-based medicine research. Promoting the application of this platform in evidence-based medicine will help researchers to use the tool scientifically and improve research efficiency.