Clinical practice guidelines on the management of patients with common otologic pathology toward European consensus: outline of approach

OBJECTIVE: To achieve a European consensus about the best-evidence informed-management of patients with common otologic-related problems.

DESIGN: Consensus process, supported by the European Academy of Otology & Neuro-Otology.

SETTING: The European Academy of Otology & Neuro-Otology.

METHODS: A guideline of a specific disease should include evidence-informed recommendations about questions relating to treatment, prognosis, and diagnosis. A standardized method to design guideline questions to search for evidence and to grade the quality of available evidence results in an overview of the best available literature. Experts achieve a consensus on best practice and articulate recommendations on evidence-based actions to be taken in patient care accordingly. The assets of such evidence-based consensus usually are the opinion of experts and arguments on availability, transferability, applicability, and affordability.

DISCUSSION: The volume of new information increases at a staggering pace. As a result, there is an increasing demand for consistent systematic management of the available evidence. Systematic filtering of available evidence will help clinicians to find and apply best available and latest evidence efficiently and quickly.

CONCLUSION: Despite the otologic line of approach, the present article provides a step-by-step "guideline development instruction manual," which could be used within other medical specialties.