Abstract:

Objective To evaluate the quality of methodologies of clinical guidelines on the bipolar disorder by using the Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation (AGREEⅡ). Methods Clinical guidelines from home and abroad that met the study criteria were retrieved from the Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, Chongqing VIP database for Chinese Technical Periodicals, WANFANG DATA, Chinese Biological Medical Literature Database, PubMed, OVID, BMJ Best Practice, Dynamed, ISI Web of Knowledge, National Guideline Clearinghouse (NGC), Guidelines International Network (G-I-N), Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN), and other related websites. Search words were bipolar disorder and clinical guideline. The quality of methodologies of these clinical guidelines was evaluated based on the AGREEⅡ. Results Seventeen clinical guidelines were selected. The overall median domain scores of AGREEⅡ showed that the bestperforming domains were clarity of presentation (83%) and scope and purpose (69%), and followed by rigour of development (40%) and stakeholder involvement (31%). Editorial independence (25%) and applicability (15%) got the lowest scores. The scores of rigour of development, clarity of presentation, applicability, stakeholder involvement and scope and purpose of the evidence-based guidelines were higher than those of the expert consensus guidelines. The score of editorial independence of Chinese guideline on prevention and treatment of bipolar disorder was zero and its scores were lower than the overall median scores of other fourteen evidence-based guidelines. Conclusion The overall quality of methodologies of evaluated clinical guidelines on bipolar disorder cannot meet the criteria of AGREE Ⅱ. AGREE Ⅱ is recommended to be used to develop and update the clinical guidelines.

Key words: bipolar disorder, clinical guideline, quality appraisal, health care, bibliometrics, Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation Ⅱ