Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons guidelines development: Clinical Practice Guideline Update Standard Operating Procedure.

INTRODUCTION

The SAGES Guidelines Committee creates evidence-based clinical practice guidelines (CPGs). Updates which incorporate new evidence into the guidelines are necessary to maintain relevance for clinical use. A description of our standard operating procedure for this process is described here, which contributes to SAGES' commitment to producing high-quality clinical recommendations.

METHODS

This paper outlines the SAGES Clinical Practice Guideline Update Standard Operating Procedure in order to incorporate regular updates to our guideline development process.

RESULTS

SAGES has developed an evidence-based, standardized approach in updating current clinical practice guidelines to ensure that physicians and patients have access to the most appropriate recommendations.

CONCLUSION

Societies that promote guidelines within their organization must make an intentional effort to regularly evaluate the relevance of their recommendations. The SAGES Guidelines Update Standard Operating Procedure aims to provide a framework to reliably and systematically review existing guidelines and update them as needed.