On Treatment Patterns for Modeling Medical Treatment Processes in Clinical Practice Guidelines

Clinical practice guidelines(CPGs)contain evidence-based and economically reasonable medical treatment processes.Executable medical treatment processes in healthcare information systems can assist the treatment processes.To this end,business process modeling technologies have been exploited to model medical treatment processes.However,medical treatment processes are usually flexible and knowledge-intensive.To reduce the effort in modeling,we summarize several treatment patterns(i.e.,frequent behaviors in medical treatment processes in CPGs),and represent them by three process modeling languages(i.e.,BPMN,DMN,and CMMN).Based on the summarized treatment patterns,we propose a pattern-based integrated framework for modeling medical treatment processes.A modeling platform is implemented to support the use of treatment patterns,by which the feasibility of our approach is validated.An empirical analysis is discussed based on the coverage rates of treatment patterns.Feedback from interviewed physicians in a Chinese hospital shows that executable medical treatment processes of CPGs provide a convenient way to obtain guidance,thus assisting daily work for medical workers.

An Analysis of the Application of the Suggestions of Clinical Practice Guideline for Ostomy Care in China:A Cross-Sectional Investigation

Background:Clinical practice guidelines refer to the guidance provided by the expert system to help medical staff and patients decide on appropriate treatments for a specific clinical situation,mainly including guidelines based on expert consensus and evidence-based guidelines.Since there is no research and clinical application of a specific stoma guidance in China.It is of great significance to understand the application status of the recommended guidelines and the influencing factors in promoting the development of stoma care.Purpose:To investigate the application status of recommended clinical practice guidelines for stoma nursing in China,and to analyse the reasons for the knowledge and application of recommendations.Methods:The Questionnaire on the Application of Recommendations in Clinical Practice Guidelines for Ostomy Nursing was adopted.Results:We collected 195 questionnaires and 183 valid questionnaires were available.(1)The average knowledge rate of a total of 31 recommendations was 73.65%.The main reasons for unknown were insufficient dissemination and lack of training.(2)The average application rate of the 31 recommendations was 58.08%.The overall satisfaction rate of people who used them was high.The main reasons for not applying recommendations were complex.Conclusions:Different levels of recommendations awareness and application are different.There is a lack of evidence-based guidelines for clinical practice in ostomy nursing in the field of stoma care in China,which limits the scientific development of stoma care to a certain extent.However,this study provides reference for the future construction of a guidebook adapted to our country’s localization.

Clinical practice guidelines for the interventional treatment of advanced pancreatic cancer(5^(th)edition)

Pancreatic cancer has become a major disease affecting people’s health because of its insidiousness,rapid progression and poor prognosis.Based on the practical needs of clinical work,combined with domestic multi-center research and experience,this guideline provides constructive suggestions for the interventional treatment of pancreatic cancer.

Colorectal surgeon consensus with diverticulitis clinical practice guidelines

AIM To determine the application of clinical practice guidelines for the current management of diverticulitis and colorectal surgeon specialist consensus in Australia and New Zealand.METHODS A survey was distributed to 205 colorectal surgeons in Australia and New Zealand, using 22 hypothetical clinical scenarios.RESULTS The response rate was 102(50%). For 19 guidelinebased scenarios, only 11(58%) reached consensus(defined as > 70% majority opinion) and agreed with guidelines; while 3(16%) reached consensus and did not agree with guidelines. The remaining 5(26%) scenarios showed community equipoise(defined as less than/equal to 70% majority opinion). These included diagnostic imaging where CT scan was contraindicated, management options in the failureof conservative therapy for complicated diverticulitis, surgical management of Hinchey grade 3, proximal extent of resection in sigmoid diverticulitis and use of oral mechanical bowel preparation and antibiotics for an elective colectomy. The consensus areas not agreeing with guidelines were management of simple diverticulitis, management following the failure of conservative therapy in uncomplicated diverticulitis and follow-up after an episode of complicated diverticulitis. Fifty-percent of rural/regional based surgeons would perform an urgent sigmoid colectomy in failed conservative therapy of diverticulitis compared to only 8% of surgeons city-based(Fisher's exact test P = 0.016). In right-sided complicated diverticulitis, a greater number of those in practice for more than ten years would perform an ileocecal resection and ileocolic anastomosis(79% vs 41%, P < 0.0001).CONCLUSION While there are areas of consensus in diverticulitis management, there are areas of community equipoise for future research, potentially in the form of RCTs.

Organic Integration of Traditional Chinese and Western Medicines—Future of Clinical Practice Guidelines of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicines

The transformation and implementation of clinical practice guidelines for integrated traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)and Western medicine(WM)is crucial to the adoption of medical science and technological findings and is an important way for TCM to be made available to the world.First,clinical practice guidelines(CPGs)of TCM and WM integration in recent years was analyzed to clarify the current situation and problems in the existing guidelines according to the following four perspectives:(1)perspective of TCM and WM integration in guidelines,(2)diagnosis Using integrated TCM and WM,(3)integration of TCM and WM treatment,(4)promoting TCM and WM integration.Secondly,the information and quality evaluation of CPGs for integrated Chinese and Western medicine in 2020–2022 were analyzed to explore the degree and methods of integration of Chinese and Western medicine guidelines.And last this study aimed to lay a foundation for the further establishment of Chinese characteristic,repeatable,and calculable clinical practice guidelines of TCM and WM integration.

Levels of evidence and grades of recommendation supporting European society for medical oncology clinical practice guidelines

Background:The European Society for Medical Oncology(ESMO)guidelines are among the most comprehensive and widely used clinical practice guidelines(CPGs)globally.However,the level of scientific evidence supporting ESMO CPG recommendations has not been systematically investigated.This study assessed ESMO CPG levels of evidence(LOE)and grades of recommendations(GOR),as well as their trends over time across various cancer settings.Methods:We manually extracted every recommendation with the Infectious Diseases Society of America(IDSA)classification from each CPG.We examined the distribution of LOE and GOR in all available ESMO CPG guidelines across different topics and cancer types.Results:Among the 1,823 recommendations in the current CPG,30%were classified as LOEⅠ,and 43%were classified as GOR A.Overall,there was a slight decrease in LOEⅠ(−2%)and an increase in the proportion of GOR A(+1%)in the current CPG compared to previous versions.The proportion of GOR A recommendations based on higher levels of evidence such as randomized trials(LOEⅠ–Ⅱ)shows a decrease(71%vs.63%,p=0.009)while recommendations based on lower levels of evidence(LOEⅢ–Ⅴ)show an increase(29%vs.37%,p=0.01)between previous and current version.In the current versions,the highest proportion of LOEⅠ(42%)was found in recommendations related to pharmacotherapy,while the highest proportion of GOR A recommendations was found in the areas of pathology(50%)and diagnostic(50%)recommendations.Significant variability in LOEⅠand GOR A recommendations and their changes over time was observed across different cancer types.Conclusion:One-third of the current ESMO CPG recommendations are supported by the highest level of evidence.More well-designed randomized clinical trials are needed to increase the proportion of LOEⅠand GOR A recommendations,ultimately leading to improved outcomes for cancer patients.

Development of the Scientific,Transparent and Applicable Rankings (STAR) tool for clinical practice guidelines

Background:This study aimed to develop a comprehensive instrument for evaluating and ranking clinical practice guidelines,named Scientific,Transparent and Applicable Rankings tool(STAR),and test its reliability,validity,and usability.Methods:This study set up a multidisciplinary working group including guideline methodologists,statisticians,journal editors,clinicians,and other experts.Scoping review,Delphi methods,and hierarchical analysis were used to develop the STAR tool.We evaluated the instrument’s intrinsic and interrater reliability,content and criterion validity,and usability.Results:STAR contained 39 items grouped into 11 domains.The mean intrinsic reliability of the domains,indicated by Cronbach’sαcoefficient,was 0.588(95%confidence interval[CI]:0.414,0.762).Interrater reliability as assessed with Cohen’s kappa coefficient was 0.774(95%CI:0.740,0.807)for methodological evaluators and 0.618(95%CI:0.587,0.648)for clinical evaluators.The overall content validity index was 0.905.Pearson’s r correlation for criterion validity was 0.885(95%CI:0.804,0.932).The mean usability score of the items was 4.6 and the median time spent to evaluate each guideline was 20 min.Conclusion:The instrument performed well in terms of reliability,validity,and efficiency,and can be used for comprehensively evaluating and ranking guidelines.

Differences in Contents and Formation Methods of Clinical Questions in Chinese and Korean Clinical Practice Guidelines of Acupuncture-Moxibustion:Scoping Review

Objective:To analyze the differences in the needs of users and the value orientation of clinical practice guidelines(CPGs)by comparing the contents and formation methods of clinical questions in Chinese and Korean CPGs of acupuncture-moxibustion(Acup-Mox).Methods:The full text of CPGs was systematically searched from the official websites of Chinese and Korean traditional medicine societies and Acup-Mox associations,with the topic"Acup-Mox for treating diseases"and the retrieval time up to September 28,2022.Two researchers screened the CPGs independently,and extracted the guidelines'topics,content,quantity and formation methods of clinical questions.The quantitative data were collected by counting the frequency,and the qualitative data were classified and described by thematic analysis.Results:A total of 29 guidelines were included in this study,including 20 Chinese guidelines(305 questions)and 9 Korean guidelines(223 questions).The differences lie in the aspects of content and diversity,and formation method.As for content and diversity,Chinese guidelines focused mainly on the questions related to treatment such as the operation of specific intervention(86,28.2%),efficacy of intervention(78,25.6%),and also involving questions in diagnosis,prevention,and prognosis.While the clinical questions in Korean guidelines were concentrated to efficacy of intervention(218,97.8%).As for formation method,in Chinese guidelines,questions were usually collected directly from clinicians,and then determined and optimized by experts.In Korean guidelines,frequently used clinical Acup-Mox interventions would be screened first.Then the expert group would set up corresponding intervention control measures so as to form clinical questions related to treatment efficacy.Conclusions:The differences reflect the different needs of clinical practitioners,and the different aims or concepts in developing Acup-Mox guidelines between China and South Korea.Chinese guidelines emphasized promoting operation protocols and techniques of Acup-Mox for practical use,while Korean guidelines emphasized promoting the frequently used clinical intervention therapies.It is speculated that the guidelines from these two countries would play different roles in guiding clinical operation and supporting medical decision.In terms of formation methods of clinical questions,it is suggested to attach importance to optimizing process in formatting clinical questions to improve the clinical applicability of CPGs of Acup-Mox.

Exploration of Stratified Evidence Scoring Method of Acupuncture Clinical Practice Guidelines

Due to its own internal laws of development,Chinese medicine(CM)seems more inclined to empirical medicine in a relatively long historical period.It is considered to be lacking objective and unified clinical practice guidelines(CPGs),and the difficulties in diagnosis and therapeutic effect evaluation comes with it,have restricted its further inheritance,development and international communication.Over the years,our research group has been committed to improving the standardization theory and methodology of CM,also perfecting relative techniques for further application,which are all based on the stratified evidence scoring method.We have already applied this method to 45 issued guidelines,including 5 national guidelines,3 industrial guidelines,and 37 formulation/revision social organization guidelines.The stratified evidence scoring method has been recognized and used widely.It helps scholars and applicators to study,formulate,publish and popularize the acupuncture therapy clinical practice guidelines better,thus further promotes the development of acupuncture therapy.

Clinical Practice Guideline of Integrative Chinese and Western Medicine for Acute Myocardial Infarction

With increasing morbidity and mortality,acute myocardial infarction(AMI)has become one of the major causes of human death,leading to heavy burdens to individuals,families and society.Previous researches have found that though large amount of resources and great effort were devoted,no significant improvements were achieved in reducing the in-hospital mortality of AMI patients.Meanwhile,extensive studies about Chinese medicine(CM)have found that CM has special advantages in treating AMI patients.However,there is no standardized and unified clinical practice guideline(CPG)of CM for AMI.Therefore,a CPG with strict standard and generally acknowledgement is urgent to be established.This guideline was developed following the methodological process established by the World Health Organization Handbook for Guideline Development.Extensive search on clinical evidences including systematic review(SR),randomized controlled trial(RCT),observational study and case reports was launched,covering evidence of CM for AMI on several aspects,such as diagnosis,CM patterns,CM interventions on AMI and complications,cardiac rehabilitation and clinical pathway management.Besides,the application of Grading of Recommendations Assessment,Development and Evaluation(GRADE)approach enabled the evaluation of evidence and formulation of grade of recommendation(GOR)and level of evidence(LOE).With the help of GOR and LOE,this CPG recommends the integrative CM and WM treatment method in AMI patients and provides useful information on medical decision for clinical physicians.

Clinical Practice Guidelines and Experts’Consensuses for Treatment of Coronavirus Disease 2019(COVID-19)Patients with Chinese Herbal Medicine:A Systematic Review

Objective:To systematically review the clinical practice guidelines for the treatment of coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)patients with Chinese herbal medicine(CHM),summarize their recommendations and evaluate their qualities.Methods:Electronic databases,websites of governments,academic associations or organizations for eligible guidelines were searched up to April 2020.Information were extracted to summarize recommendations for the use of Chinese herbal formulae and Chinese patent medicine(CPM)for COVID-19 patients.The methodological quality and reporting quality of the included guidelines were independently evaluated,using the Appraisal of Guidelines for REsearch and Evaluation(AGREE)Ⅱtool and Reporting Items for Practice Guidelines in healthcare(RIGHT)statement,respectively.Results:Totally 45 guidelines were identififi ed:42(93%)suggested specific CM formulae for treating COVID-19 patients;and 35(78%)assigned patients diagnosed with COVID-19 to 4 stages(early,development,critical and recovery).The recommended formulae and CPMs for each stage with diverse syndrome types have been summarized.Most of the included guidelines were of low methodological quality,with only one achieving moderate quality of AGREEⅡ.The frequency with which the 35 items in the Reporting Items for Practice Guidelines in Healthcare(RIGHT)checklist were reported averaged 36.5%across the 45 guidelines.Conclusions:This systematic review has summarized current recommendations for treating COVID-19 patients with CHM and shows that the general quality of present guidelines is quite low.The development of future guidelines should include increased awareness of the features of good quality guidelines.

2019 Chinese Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Prevention of Mother-to-child Transmission of Hepatitis B Virus

To develop the evidence-based guidelines for managing mother-to-child transmission of hepatitis B virus in China, a multidisciplinary guideline development group was estab-lished. Clinical questions were identified from two rounds of surveys on the concerns of first-line clinicians. We conducted a comprehensive search and review of the literature. A grading of recommendations' assessment, development, and evaluation system was adopted to rate the quality of evidence and the strength of recommendations. Recommen-dations were formulated based on the evidence, overall balance of benefits and harms (at individual and population levels), patient/health worker values and preferences, re-sources available, cost-effectiveness, and feasibility. Even-tually, recommendations related to 13 main clinical concerns were developed, covering diagnostic criteria, treatment in-dications, antiviral therapy choice, timing to initiate and discontinue treatment, immunoprophylaxis strategy at birth, and how to deal with special situations, such as unintended pregnancy, assisted reproduction, and breastfeeding. The guidelines are intended to serve as guidance for clinicians and patients, to optimize the management of majority of pregnant women who are positive for hepatitis B surface antigen. Guideline registration: International Practice Guide Registration Platform (IPGRP-2018CN040).

Acupuncture for low back pain:a clinical practice guideline from the Hong Kong taskforce of standardized acupuncture practice

OBJECTIVE:To develop a clinical practice guideline to guide the treatment of low back pain by acupuncture.METHODS:An integrative approach of systematic review of literature,clinical evidence classification,expert opinion surveying,and consensus establishing via a Delphi program was utilized during the developing process.Both evidence-based practice standards and the personalized features of acupuncture were taken into considerations.RESULTS:Based on clinical evidence and expert opinions,we developed a clinical practice guideline for the treatment of low back pain with acupuncture.These recommendations have a wide coverage spanning from Western Medicine diagnosis and Traditional Chinese Medicine syndrome differentiation,to acupuncture treatment procedures,as well as post treatment care for rehabilitation and follow-ups.The recommendations for acupuncture practice included treatment principles,therapeutic regimens,and operational procedures.The levels of evidence and strength of recommendation were rated for each procedure of practice.CONCLUSION:A clinical practice guideline for acupuncture treating low back pain was developed based on contemporary clinical evidence and experts'consensus to provide best currently agreeable practice guideline for domestic and international stakeholders.

International Clinical Practice Guideline of Chinese Medicine: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a major chronic disease that seriously endangers public health. Some remarkable results have shown that Chinese medicine has an obvious clinical effect in preventing and treating COPD. To further promote the normative use of Chinese medicine to better guide the clinical diagnosis and treatment of COPD,the World Federation of Chinese Medicine Societies developed a panel to establish the guidelines by systematically evaluating, based on the revision and transformation of Guidelines for Chinese Medicine Diagnosis and Treatment of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease released by the China Association of Chinese Medicine in 2019(Standard No:T/CACM 1319-2019), the latest clinical research evidence at home and abroad, formatting the International Clinical Practice Guideline of Chinese Medicine—Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, and publishing in both Chinese and English. The guidelines consist of 12 parts:preface, introduction, scope, normative references, terms and definitions, disease diagnosis and staging, severity assessment,etiology and pathogenesis, syndrome differentiation and treatment, other treatment, prevention and care, and appendix. They also standardize the contents of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) etiology and pathogenesis, syndrome differentiation and treatment, and prevention and care of COPD. These guidelines are applicable to clinical respiratory physicians of TCM and integrated traditional Chinese and western medicine.The release of these guidelines will help improve the effect and level of Chinese medicine for COPD.

Status Quo and Analysis of the Cardiovascular Clinical Practice Guidelines/Expert Consensuses of Chinese and Integrative Medicine:A Systematic

Objective:To describe and analyze the status quo of cardiovascular clinical practice guidelines or expert consensuses including both Chinese medicine(CM)and integrative medicine,through systematic literatures searching and quality assessment.Methods:Data bases including Chinese Biomedical Literature Database,the China National Knowledge Infrastructure,Wanfang Data,China Science and Technology Journal Database were searched for published CM or integrative cardiovascular clinical practice guidelines or expert consensuses.The website www.medlive.cn was also retrieved as supplementary.The clinical practice evaluation tool AGREEⅡwas used to assess the quality of included guidelines or consensuses.Results:A total of 31 relevant clinical practice guidelines or expert consensuses were included,covering diagnosis,treatment,Chinese patent and patient fields.Common cardiovascular diseases like coronary heart diseases,heart failure and arrhythmia were also involved.Through analysis it was found that both the quantity and quality of included guidelines have been improved year by year.A total of 4 evidence-based clinical practice guideline has been found,one of which was a guideline project plan.Except that,the remaining 27 reports were all consensusbased guidelines.The scores of each field,from highest to lowest,were clarity of presentation(58%),scope and purpose(54%),stakeholder involvement(28%),rigor of development(21%),applicability(13%)and editorial independence(8%).Conclusions:Although clinical practice guidelines in cardiovascular domain of Chinese have gained increasing concern,with both quantity and quality improved,there is still huge gap in methodology and reporting standards between CM guidelines and international ones.On the one hand,it is essential to improve and standardize the methodology of developing CM guidelines.On the other hands,the evaluation system of evidence and recommendation with CM characters should be developed urgently.

Development of rapid advice guideline and standard and continuous updating guideline:experiences and practice

We published rapid advice guidelines and updated guidelines for coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)management on February 6,2020,and September 4,2020,respectively.These two guidelines vary widely in their developmental background,type of evidence,grade of recommendation and so on.We shared our experience for the development of these two guidelines to help clinical practitioners better understand and implement guidelines and to help guideline developers facilitate communication and discussion for guideline development during the pandemic.

Clinical Practice Guideline of Acupuncture for Bell's Palsy

Backgroud: Acupuncture is common used for Bell's palsy in clinic, however, recent systematic reviews all shows that there is no sufficient evidence to support the effectiveness of acupuncture for Bell's palsy because ofthe poor quality and heterogeneity. It's urgently necessary to develop a guideline of acupuncture for Bell's palsy based on principles of evidence-based medicine to optimize acupuncture treating,standardize outcomes evaluating and to improve the quality of acupuncture for patients with Bell's palsy under general circumstances.Objective: To improve the accuracy of diagnosing and managing Bell's palsy, optimize acupuncture treating and outcomes evaluating for patients with Bell's palsy, and to improve the quality of acupuncture for patients with Bell's palsy in most instances.Methods: This guideline was developed using an explicit and transparent a priori protocol based on supporting evidences and experts' consensus. The guideline developing Group followed the protocol through all stages of the development process: proposed clinical questions,searched clinical evidences, evaluated levels of evidences, developed recommendations, peer reviewed and consummated, and finally formed the draft of this guideline.Results:(1)The guideline development group made a Grade A recommendation that ①With a course of Bell's palsy within 3 months, the patients with mild facial palsy may be treated with any one of acupuncture, western drugs, or acupuncture combing with western drugs,whereas the patients with severe facial palsy may be treated with acupuncture or acupuncture combing with western drugs. With a course of more than 3 months, acupuncture is more suitable.②Acupuncture should be applied as early as possible for Bell's palsy.③The principle of selecting acupoints for Bell's palsy is to select local points, points of corresponding meridians and those according to differentiation. Generally,the points of yangming meridians are the main ones. ④The various methods of acupuncture and moxibustion are adopted for Bell's palsy,including filiform needling, moxibustion, electro-acupuncture, etc. Two or more methods are usually used together in clinical practice.(2) The development group formed expert consensus on the principles of acupuncture treatment for Bell' palsy. Bell's palsy is suitably treated according to the stages, differentiation and symptoms.

A rapid advice guideline for the diagnosis and treatment of 2019 novel coronavirus(2019-nCoV) infected pneumonia(standard version)

In December 2019, a new type viral pneumonia cases occurred in Wuhan, Hubei Province;and then named "2019 novel coronavirus(2019-nCoV)" by the World Health Organization(WHO) on 12 January 2020. For it is a never been experienced respiratory disease before and with infection ability widely and quickly, it attracted the world’s attention but without treatment and control manual. For the request from frontline clinicians and public health professionals of 2019-nCoV infected pneumonia management, an evidence-based guideline urgently needs to be developed. Therefore, we drafted this guideline according to the rapid advice guidelines methodology and general rules of WHO guideline development;we also added the first-hand management data of Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University. This guideline includes the guideline methodology, epidemiological characteristics, disease screening and population prevention, diagnosis, treatment and control(including traditional Chinese Medicine), nosocomial infection prevention and control, and disease nursing of the 2019-nCoV. Moreover, we also provide a whole process of a successful treatment case of the severe 2019-nCoV infected pneumonia and experience and lessons of hospital rescue for 2019-nCoV infections. This rapid advice guideline is suitable for the first frontline doctors and nurses, managers of hospitals and healthcare sections, community residents, public health persons, relevant researchers, and all person who are interested in the 2019-nCoV.

Best practices for prevention of post-endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography pancreatitis

Acute pancreatitis is of one the most common gastroenterology-related indications for hospital admissions worldwide.With the widespread reliance on endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography(ERCP)for the management of pancreaticobiliary conditions,post-ERCP pancreatitis(PEP)has come to represent an important etiology of acute pancreatitis.Despite many studies aiming to better understand the pathogenesis and prevention of this iatrogenic disorder,findings have been heterogeneous,and considerable variation in clinical practice exists.Herein,we review the literature regarding PEP with the goal to raise awareness of this entity,discuss recent data,and present evidence-based best practices.We believe this manuscript will be useful for gastrointestinal endoscopists as well as other specialists involved in the management of patients with PEP.