Objectivity, practicality, and significance of practice guidelines for the practicing neurologists: What we learnt from consensus criteria in CIDP, Myasthenia Gravis and Inflammatory Myopathies

Ther Adv Neurol Disord. 2023 Sep 4;16:17562864231194821. doi: 10.1177/17562864231194821. eCollection 2023.ABSTRACTThe value of practice guidelines in the three most common autoimmune neuromuscular disorders, namely Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy (CIDP), Myasthenia Gravis (MG) and Autoimmune Inflammatory Myopathies (AIM), has been extensively debated regarding their usefulness in clinical practice, objectivity and universal value considering that guidelines are also established regionally in certain countries. This commentary highlights common concerns on how guidelines are presently generated, pointing out: (a) non-sufficient diversity among Task-Force members to identify and address not only routine clinical and electrophysiology issues but also immunology, imaging, pathology, biomarkers, epidemiology or treatment economics; (b) Task-Force being often comprised by the same or seemingly like-minded members conveying the erroneous impression that experts with opposing views might have been excluded, even if this is clearly not the case; and (c) relying on web-based registries or retrospective data collections from heterogeneous sources. As a result, the existing practice guidelines in CIDP, MG and AIM remain an unfinished business but an excellent base for further enhancement. Guidelines can be extremely helpful not only for clinical trials but also in clinical practice if viewed as a living document with continuously updated versions by experts even with op...
Source: Adv Data - Category: Epidemiology Authors: Source Type: research