Table 1.

The grading of recommendation, assessment, development, and evaluation (GRADE) system

	Criteria
Quality of Evidence
High quality	Further research is very unlikely to change our confidence in the estimate of effect.	A
Moderate quality	Further research is likely to have an important impact on our confidence in the estimate of effect and may change the estimate.	B
Low quality	Further research is very likely to have an important impact on our confidence in the estimate of effect and is likely to change the estimate.	C
Strength of Recommendation
Strong	Factors influencing the strength of the recommendation included the quality of the evidence, presumed patient-important outcomes, and cost.	1
Weak	Variability in preference and values, or more uncertainty. A recommendation is made with less certainty, higher cost or resource consumption.	2