A critical appraisal of guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of Parkinson's disease

BACKGROUND: Clinical practice guidelines are documents used for decision-making in patient clinical care and even for health-policy development. We consider the assessment of their methodological quality is essential. OBJECTIVE: To assess the methodological quality of the most recent evidence-based guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of Parkinson's disease. METHODS: We conducted a systematic review of guidelines on Parkinson's disease published from June 2008 to June 2014. Eligible guidelines were critically evaluated by different reviewers using the Appraisal of Guidelines Research and Evaluation II (Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation II, AGREE II). RESULTS: A total of 26 references were obtained, from where 16 were eligible for critical evaluation. A total of 14 guidelines were considered scientifically admissible. Overall, the domain of applicabilityobtained the lowest scores. Top rated domain was clarity of presentation. SIGN and NICE guidelines were scored higher among all evaluated guidelines. CONCLUSION: A large number of guidelines were deemed admissible, however most of them require an update. The methodological quality of the guidelines varies widely, so it is suggested that developers guide agencies adhere to accepted methodological standards including the AGREE II instrument.