Editorial independence and conflict of interest in clinical practice guidelines on care of ulcers and chronic wounds

Abstract

Objective: to evaluate the editorial independence and declaration of conflicts of interest expressed in the Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPGs) on prevention and treatment of ulcers and chronic wounds. Methodology: systematic review of current national and international GPCs on vascular leg ulcers (VLU), diabetic foot ulcers (DFU), pressure ulcers (PU) and malignant ulcers (MU). Evaluation Domain 6 (item # 22 and # 23) AGREE II Instrument (Appraisal of Guidelines Research and Evaluation). Review by 6 experts and intra-observer analysis. Results: 26 CPGs were analyzed (12 on PU, 7 on DFU, 6 on VLU and 1 on MU). 80.7% of CPGs were international publications. 10 CPG fully complied with the Dominion 6 AGREE II, 13 did so partially, and 3 not comply. Relating to item 22 (editorial independence), the average value achieved was 62.5%, while for item 23 (conflicts of interest) an 83.92% was obtained. Conclusions: 73% of CPGs comply successfully the Domain 6 AGREE II; Still, GPC-UVP should raise their standard of editorial quality. The item 22 (editorial independence) was the least fulfilled and the most difficult to assess by reviewers, it must be a section to improve in future editions of CPGs. Keywords: clinical practice guidelines, editorial independence, conflict of interest, ethics, AGREE, ulcers.

Comunicación - póster presentada en: 27th Conference of the European Wound Management Association (EWMA 2017) in cooperation with WCS Knowledge Centre Wound Care: "Change, opportunities and challenges - Wound management in changing healthcare systems" celebrado en Amsterdam (The Neatherlands), el 3 y 5 de Mayo 2017.