Abstract:
Objective To systematically assess the methodological quality of clinical practice guidelines for fungal diseases to provide a reference for the formulation of guidelines/consensuses in the field of fungal diseases in the future.
Methods Guidelines and expert consensuses on fungal diseases were searched from relevant databases and related websites such as Medline (via PubMed), Embase, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang Data Knowledge Service Platform, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, China Clinical Guidelines Library Network, and China Medical Knowledge Base Guidelines Library from January 2023 to December 2024. After two researchers completed the consistency evaluation, the included guidelines and consensuses were evaluated for methodological quality and the results were analyzed using the Appraisal of Guidelines for Research & Evaluation (AGREE) instrumentⅡ, also known as AGREEⅡ.
Results Twenty-two guidelines or consensuses were finally included, of which 8 were rated as grade A (recommended for adoption) and 14 were rated as grade B (recommendable after modification). The scoring rates of the six domains evaluated by AGREE Ⅱ were 8.21%±1.52% for Scope and Purpose, 65.53%±0.79% for Stakeholder Involvement, 68.94%±0.23% for Rigour of Development, 80.81%±0.45% for Clarity of Presentation, 6.35%±0.52% for Applicability, and 67.99% ±4.09% for Independence. Failure to document and disclose conflicts of interest among guideline development group members in terms of independence was a significant factor for score deduction.The guidelines/consensuses in 2024 were superior to those in 2023 in terms of rigour (P < 0.05).
Conclusion The methodological quality of fungal disease guidelines and expert consensuses regarding participants, rigour, applicability, and independence needs to be further improved, and the guideline development needs to be in strict accordance with AGREEⅡ requirements to clarify conflicts of interest.