Re: Scope, quality, and inclusivity of clinical guidelines produced early in the covid-19 pandemic: rapid review
Dear Editor,
We read with interest the paper by Dagens et al [1]. This is a critical topic given the increased number of publications with methodological issues that raise confusion and difficulties to take the best clinical and public health decisions for the management of COVID 19 infection [2]. The countries required the best evidence based recommendations, adapted to specific national conditions and the Colombian Association of Infectious Diseases (ACIN) was in excellent position to undertake this task, given its previous experience in guidelines construction for HIV, H1N1 and other infectious diseases that are part of the Colombian National Evidence Based Clinical Practice Guidelines [3]. The Colombian consensus recommendations informed on evidence for diagnosis, management and treatment of the infection by SARS-COV-2/ COVID-19 in health care facilities, were elaborated by an expert group from 55 scientific societies, 12 hospitals and 9 universities and released on 27th March 2020, with the support of the Institute for Evaluation of Health Technologies [4]. The guidelines were constructed independently, but they were adopted by the national government and were the basis for the 49 official technical documents that oriented the national and local health authorities for COVID 19 management [5]. These guidelines included a systematic research literature, evidence gradation and recommendations adopted through a modified DELPHI system, by 200 experts. The methodology for the construction of the guidelines is detailed on the document published on Infectio [4]. Also, is essential to note that specific recommendations were included for vulnerable groups such as: immunocompromised, pediatric, elderly, and indigenous communities. An updated and enlarged second edition was released recently, composed by eight sections [6–10] and one methodological companion paper [11]. We think this is the most important and relevant and rigorous effort for COVID 19 guidelines published in Spanish to date. Finally, the strategy of collaborative work that resulted in the Colombian Guidelines for COVID 19, remember us the need that multiple disciplines should participate in a coordinated way to obtain the best results.
References
1 Dagens A, Sigfrid L, Cai E, et al. Scope, quality, and inclusivity of clinical guidelines produced early in the covid-19 pandemic: rapid review. BMJ 2020;369:m2371. doi:10.1136/bmj.m2371
2 Ledford H, Van Noorden R. High-profile coronavirus retractions raise concerns about data oversight. Nature Published Online First: 5 June 2020. doi:10.1038/d41586-020-01695-w
3 Ministerio de Salud y Protección. Guias de Práctica Clínica. Guias de Práctica Clínica. http://gpc.minsalud.gov.co/gpc/SitePages/buscador_gpc.aspx (accessed 14 Jun 2020).
4 Saavedra-Trujillo CH. Consenso colombiano de atención, diagnóstico y manejo de la infección por SARS-COV-2/COVID 19 en establecimientos de atención de la salud. Recomendaciones basadas en consenso de expertos e informadas en la evidencia. Infectio 2020;24:1. doi:10.22354/in.v24i3.851
5 Ministerio de Salud y Proteccion Social. Documentos Técnicos covid-19. Doc. Técnicos. 2020.https://www.minsalud.gov.co/salud/publica/PET/Paginas/Documentos-tecnico... (accessed 14 Jun 2020).
6 Trujillo CHS. SECCIÓN I, II y III. Infectio 2020;24. doi:10.22354/IN.V24I3.889
7 Saavedra-Trujillo CH. SECCIÓN IV. Diagnóstico de los casos de infección por SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19. Infectio 2020;24. doi:10.22354/IN.V24I3.890
8 Saavedra-Trujillo CH. SECCIÓN V. Manejo del paciente con infección por SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19. Infectio 2020;24. doi:10.22354/IN.V24I3.891
9 Saavedra-Trujillo CH. SECCIÓN VII. Población pediátrica. Infectio 2020;24. doi:10.22354/IN.V24I3.892
10 Saavedra-Trujillo CH. SECCIÓN VIII. Consenso colombiano de atención, diagnóstico y manejo de la infección por SARS-COV-2/COVID-19 en establecimientos de atención de la salud. Segunda Edición. Infectio 2020;24:1–108. doi:10.22354/IN.V24I3.872
11 Saavedra-Trujillo CH. Anexos. Infectio 2020;24. doi:10.22354/IN.V24I3.893
Rapid Response:
Re: Scope, quality, and inclusivity of clinical guidelines produced early in the covid-19 pandemic: rapid review
Dear Editor,
We read with interest the paper by Dagens et al [1]. This is a critical topic given the increased number of publications with methodological issues that raise confusion and difficulties to take the best clinical and public health decisions for the management of COVID 19 infection [2]. The countries required the best evidence based recommendations, adapted to specific national conditions and the Colombian Association of Infectious Diseases (ACIN) was in excellent position to undertake this task, given its previous experience in guidelines construction for HIV, H1N1 and other infectious diseases that are part of the Colombian National Evidence Based Clinical Practice Guidelines [3]. The Colombian consensus recommendations informed on evidence for diagnosis, management and treatment of the infection by SARS-COV-2/ COVID-19 in health care facilities, were elaborated by an expert group from 55 scientific societies, 12 hospitals and 9 universities and released on 27th March 2020, with the support of the Institute for Evaluation of Health Technologies [4]. The guidelines were constructed independently, but they were adopted by the national government and were the basis for the 49 official technical documents that oriented the national and local health authorities for COVID 19 management [5]. These guidelines included a systematic research literature, evidence gradation and recommendations adopted through a modified DELPHI system, by 200 experts. The methodology for the construction of the guidelines is detailed on the document published on Infectio [4]. Also, is essential to note that specific recommendations were included for vulnerable groups such as: immunocompromised, pediatric, elderly, and indigenous communities. An updated and enlarged second edition was released recently, composed by eight sections [6–10] and one methodological companion paper [11]. We think this is the most important and relevant and rigorous effort for COVID 19 guidelines published in Spanish to date. Finally, the strategy of collaborative work that resulted in the Colombian Guidelines for COVID 19, remember us the need that multiple disciplines should participate in a coordinated way to obtain the best results.
References
1 Dagens A, Sigfrid L, Cai E, et al. Scope, quality, and inclusivity of clinical guidelines produced early in the covid-19 pandemic: rapid review. BMJ 2020;369:m2371. doi:10.1136/bmj.m2371
2 Ledford H, Van Noorden R. High-profile coronavirus retractions raise concerns about data oversight. Nature Published Online First: 5 June 2020. doi:10.1038/d41586-020-01695-w
3 Ministerio de Salud y Protección. Guias de Práctica Clínica. Guias de Práctica Clínica. http://gpc.minsalud.gov.co/gpc/SitePages/buscador_gpc.aspx (accessed 14 Jun 2020).
4 Saavedra-Trujillo CH. Consenso colombiano de atención, diagnóstico y manejo de la infección por SARS-COV-2/COVID 19 en establecimientos de atención de la salud. Recomendaciones basadas en consenso de expertos e informadas en la evidencia. Infectio 2020;24:1. doi:10.22354/in.v24i3.851
5 Ministerio de Salud y Proteccion Social. Documentos Técnicos covid-19. Doc. Técnicos. 2020.https://www.minsalud.gov.co/salud/publica/PET/Paginas/Documentos-tecnico... (accessed 14 Jun 2020).
6 Trujillo CHS. SECCIÓN I, II y III. Infectio 2020;24. doi:10.22354/IN.V24I3.889
7 Saavedra-Trujillo CH. SECCIÓN IV. Diagnóstico de los casos de infección por SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19. Infectio 2020;24. doi:10.22354/IN.V24I3.890
8 Saavedra-Trujillo CH. SECCIÓN V. Manejo del paciente con infección por SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19. Infectio 2020;24. doi:10.22354/IN.V24I3.891
9 Saavedra-Trujillo CH. SECCIÓN VII. Población pediátrica. Infectio 2020;24. doi:10.22354/IN.V24I3.892
10 Saavedra-Trujillo CH. SECCIÓN VIII. Consenso colombiano de atención, diagnóstico y manejo de la infección por SARS-COV-2/COVID-19 en establecimientos de atención de la salud. Segunda Edición. Infectio 2020;24:1–108. doi:10.22354/IN.V24I3.872
11 Saavedra-Trujillo CH. Anexos. Infectio 2020;24. doi:10.22354/IN.V24I3.893
Competing interests: No competing interests