Staying at the cutting edge: a review and analysis of evidence reporting and grading; the recommendations of the American Urological Association

Abstract

The American Urological Association (AUA), as the premier urological organization in the USA, has been a pioneering force in the development of practice guidelines. Recently the AUA evaluated their guidelines development procedures and implemented several changes that resulted in more scientifically rigorous, transparent and efficient processes. These changes include narrowing the scope of the guideline, strengthening the systematic literature review, updating data-analysis capabilities, altering panel members' roles to exclude laborious data extraction, and identifying and specifying levels of evidence for guideline recommendations. In addition to a more scientifically sound guideline, the outcome of these modifications is a timely, less costly document involving fewer burdens on panel members.