Current clinical practice guidelines in atrial fibrillation: a review

Abstract The aim of this study is the methodological evaluation of Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPG) in atrial fibrillation. This is the second in a series of articles of review, analysis, assessment in methodology and content of clinical practice guidelines in Cardiology. Among all clinical practice guidelines, we selected the American, Canadian and NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) guidelines. We used the AGREE (Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation) II instrument for the assessment. In general, the guidelines obtained the lowest score in the applicability domain (mean 36.1%); while the highest score was for clarity of presentation (mean 93.5%). The lowest percentage was found in the editorial independence domain (Canadian guideline) and the highest of all scores in the applicability domain (NICE guideline). Regarding global quality, the NICE guideline obtained the AGREE II instrument best scores, followed by the American guideline, both recommended for use without modifications.