Systematic evaluation of the diagnostic approach of inflammatory bowel disease guidelines.

Objective: To collect and evaluate the diagnostic approach of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) guidelines and provide useful feedback for guideline developers and evidence-based clinical information to help physicians make decisions.

Methods: Diagnostic guidelines for IBD were retrieved by performing systemic and manual searches. Qualified clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) were included and then evaluated by four well-trained evaluators using the AGREE II instrument. To reduce the bias generated in this process, we used the Measurement Scale of Rate of Agreement (MSRA) tool to interpret the results. Guidelines with good recommendation distributions among the diagnostic field were further reclassified and evaluated.

Results: Fifteen diagnostic CPGs for IBD were identified and evaluated, and 70.3% (11/15) of the CPGs were above the recommended level. We observed heterogeneity among the diagnostic CPGs for IBD and discrepancies among different domains in one specific guideline. Potential improvements were identified in the fields of stakeholder involvement, rigour of development and applicability. By further analysing the heterogeneity of the recommendations and evidence in 5 UC-CPGs, we found the following issues: no discussion of diagnosing severe complications of UC, disputed significance of serologic and genetic diagnoses of UC, insufficient attention towards medical histories/physical examinations/differential diagnoses and discrepancy in classification criteria.

Conclusion: The included diagnostic CPGs for IBD were generally of good quality, but heterogeneity was identified. Addressing these issues will provide useful feedback for the guideline updating process, and it will also benefit current clinical practice and eventually patient outcome.