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. 2020 May 12;4(9):2095-2110.
doi: 10.1182/bloodadvances.2020001755.

A user guide to the American Society of Hematology clinical practice guidelines

Ariel Izcovich  1 , Adam Cuker  2   3 , Robert Kunkle  4 , Ignacio Neumann  5   6 , Julie Panepinto  7 , Menaka Pai  8 , Matthew Seftel  9 , Matthew C Cheung  10 , Richard Lottenberg  11 , Michael Byrne  12 , Robert Plovnick  4 , Deirdra Terrell  13 , Jennifer L Holter-Chakrabarty  14 , Benjamin Djulbegovic  15   16 , Lisa K Hicks  17   18 , Wojtek Wiercioch  19   20   21 , Robby Nieuwlaat  19   20   21 , Holger J Schünemann  8   19   20   21
Affiliations

A user guide to the American Society of Hematology clinical practice guidelines

Ariel Izcovich et al. Blood Adv. .

Abstract

Since November 2018, Blood Advances has published American Society of Hematology (ASH) clinical practice guidelines on venous thromboembolism, immune thrombocytopenia, and sickle cell disease. More ASH guidelines on these and other topics are forthcoming. These guidelines have been developed using consistent processes, methods, terminology, and presentation formats. In this article, we describe how patients, clinicians, policymakers, researchers, and others may use ASH guidelines and the many related derivates by describing how to interpret information and how to apply it to clinical decision-making. Also, by exploring how these documents are developed, we aim to clarify their limitations and possible inappropriate usage.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict-of-interest disclosure: A.C. has served as a consultant for Synergy CRO, and has received institutional research support from Alexion, Bayer, Novo Nordisk, Pfizer, Sanofi, Spark, and Takeda. M.S. has served as a consultant for Pfizer, Jazz, AbbVie, and Roche, and has received research funds from Teva. M.B. has received research funding from Karyopharm. R.K. is employed by ASH, which has funded and disseminated the guidelines discussed in this article. M.P. has served as a consultant for Pfizer (advisory board) and has received speaker honorarium from Novartis. H.J.S. has received funding for this project from ASH and for multiple other projects on guideline development from various organizations, and consultant fees for supporting guideline development; is an author of the Marker State database and GRADEpro, which is programmed by EvidencePrime, a company partially owned by his employer McMaster University; has not received personal payments for the use of GRADEpro; and is cochair of the GRADE Working Group. The remaining authors declare no competing financial interests.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
iSoF table. An example of an iSoF table that can be used to explore an intervention’s effect on health outcomes in alternative ways. It includes the question, outcomes, relative and absolute effects, and interpretations (https://gdt.gradepro.org/presentations/#/isof/isof_01618857-BE05-A8CA-8C89-E76E69C5FDD3-1582467465073?_k=w7ov9s).
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Example HOD. The purpose of these marker states, or HODs, is to establish common definitions of patient-important outcomes to better inform the guideline panel’s decision-making by including definitions of the consequences for people in terms of symptoms, time horizon, testing and treatment, and consequences (eg, moderate symptomatic proximal DVT) (https://ms.gradepro.org/marker-states/ce16bfaf-cd4d-4138-9c06-1784e3a5413f).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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    1. Cuker A, Arepally GM, Chong BH, et al. . American Society of Hematology 2018 guidelines for management of venous thromboembolism: heparin-induced thrombocytopenia. Blood Adv. 2018;2(22):3360-3392. - PMC - PubMed
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    1. Schünemann HJ, Cushman M, Burnett AE, et al. . American Society of Hematology 2018 guidelines for management of venous thromboembolism: prophylaxis for hospitalized and nonhospitalized medical patients. Blood Adv. 2018;2(22):3198-3225. - PMC - PubMed

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