Canadian Smoking Cessation Clinical Practice Guideline

CANADIAN SMOKING CESSATION GUIDELINEAPPENDIX F – Strength of Evidence Classification Tables for Clinical PracticeGuidelines Used as Evidence Base for CAN-ADAPTT’s Guideline DevelopmentThe following strength of evidence classification tables are for each of the existing CPGs used as the evidencebase for CAN-ADAPTT’s guideline development. Note that the grade of recommendation/strength of evidencetable for CAN-ADAPTT’s summary statements can be found in Appendix B.U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Public Health Service (2008)STRENGTH-OF-EVIDENCECLASSIFICATIONStrength of Evidence = AStrength of Evidence = BStrength of Evidence = CCRITERIAMultiple well-designed randomized clinical trials, directlyrelevant to the recommendation, yielded a consistentpattern of findings.Some evidence from randomized clinical trials supportedthe recommendation, but the scientific support was notoptimal. For instance, few randomized trials existed, thetrials that did exist were somewhat inconsistent, or thetrials were not directly relevant to the recommendation.Reserved for important clinical situations in which thePanel achieved consensus on the recommendation in theabsence of relevant randomized controlled trials.Registered Nurses Association of Ontario (RNAO) (2007)STRENGTH-OF-EVIDENCECLASSIFICATIONStrength of Evidence = AStrength of Evidence = BStrength of Evidence = CCRITERIARequires at least two randomized controlled trials as partof the body of literature of overall quality and consistencyaddressing the specific recommendations.Requires availability of well conducted clinical studies,but no randomized controlled trials on the topic ofrecommendations.Requires evidence from expert committee reports oropinions and/or clinical experience of respectedauthorities. Indicates absence of directly applicablestudies of good quality.APPENDICES 47