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. 2013 Mar;28(2):111-9.
doi: 10.1177/1533317512470209. Epub 2013 Jan 2.

Alzheimer's disease dementia guidelines for diagnostic testing: a systematic review

Ingrid Arevalo-Rodriguez  1 , Olga L Pedraza, Andrea Rodríguez, Erick Sánchez, Ignasi Gich, Ivan Solà, Xavier Bonfill, Pablo Alonso-Coello
Affiliations

Alzheimer's disease dementia guidelines for diagnostic testing: a systematic review

Ingrid Arevalo-Rodriguez et al. Am J Alzheimers Dis Other Demen. 2013 Mar.

Abstract

Alzheimer's disease dementia (AD dementia) is one of the most common neurodegenerative diseases worldwide, with a growing incidence during the last decades. Clinical diagnosis of cognitive impairment and presence of AD biomarkers have become important issues for early and adequate treatment. We performed a systematic literature search and quality appraisal of AD dementia guidelines, published between 2005 and 2011, which contained diagnostic recommendations on AD dementia. We also analyzed diagnostic recommendations related to the use of brief cognitive tests, neuropsychological evaluation, and AD biomarkers. Of the 537 retrieved references, 15 met the selection criteria. We found that Appraisal of Guidelines Research and Evaluation (AGREE)-II domains such as applicability and editorial independence had the lowest scores. The wide variability on assessment of quality of evidence and strength of recommendations were the main concerns identified regarding diagnostic testing. Although the appropriate methodology for clinical practice guideline development is well known, the quality of diagnostic AD dementia guidelines can be significantly improved.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Flowchart of the systematic search.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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