Skip to main content
. 2007 Aug;53(8):1326–1327.

Table 2.

General characteristics of the clinical practice guideline documents

CHARACTERISTICS OF G UIDELINES * DIABETES BY THE CANADIAN DIABETES ASSOCIATIO N DYSLIPID EMIA BY THE CANADIAN CARDIOVASCULAR SOCIETY DYSLIPIDEMIA IN DIABETES BY THE CANADIAN DIABETES ASSOCIATION HYPERTENSION BY THE CANADIAN HYPERTENSION EDUCATIO N PROGRAM OSTEOPOROSIS BY THE SCIENTIFIC ADVISORY COUNCIL OF THE OSTEOPOROSIS SOCIETY OF CANADA
Published pages†/Approximate word count (rounded to the nearest 100 and not including references) 118/40 100 10/7800 8/5400 27/18 000 34/19 300
Recommendations that patients’ specific risk level be discussed with them None None None “Consider informing patients of their global risk to improve the effectiveness of risk factor modification” “When a patient is identified as having a high risk for fracture, a discussion regarding treatment is recommended”
Explicit mentions of incorporating individual patients’ values and preferences into therapeutic decision making “Healthcare professionals must consider the needs, values and preferences of individual patients, use clinical judgement, and work with available human and healthcare service resources in their settings.” None None ”[H]ealth care workers must … use their own clinical judgement and consider patient preferences when applying these recommendations” “Clinical judgment and the patient’s preference, as well as evidence-based clinical trial data, will determine if, when and what treatment is initiated”
Name of risk-estimation tool recommended by document UKPDS risk engine, CLEM at http://www.chiprehab.com/CVD/ Framingham, CLEM UKPDS risk engine, CLEM CLEM, UKPDS, Framingham, SCORE, though no particular tool was recommended “Global cardiovascular risk should be assessed, … but in the absence of Canadian data, … avoid using absolute levels of risk to support treatment decisions at specific risk thresholds” Kanis et al18
End point(s) predicted by risk-estimation tool—all tools predict 10-year risk UKPDS:

  • Non-fatal and fatal CAD

  • Fatal CAD

  • Non-fatal and fatal stroke

 Framingham

  • Myocardial infarction + coronary death

 UKPDS

  • Non-fatal and fatal CAD

  • Fatal CAD

  • Non-fatal and fatal stroke

 Not applicable, as no particular tool is recommended for use All fractures (wrist, hip, proximal humerus, or vertebral)
CLEM:

  • CV age

  • Risk of “heart attacks and fatal coronary events”

 CLEM

  • CV age

  • Risk of “heart attacks and fatal coronary events”

 CLEM

  • CV age

  • Risk of “heart attacks and fatal coronary events”
Mention of costs “[L]ower cost of diuretics” “A major consideration in terms of pharmacological therapy … is cost” None None None
“[C]ost efficacy of statin therapy is contingent … on the LDL-C–lowering efficacy of the intervention chosen”

CAD—coronary artery disease, CLEM—Cardiovascular Life Expectancy Model, CV—cardiovascular, LDL-C—low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, UKPDS—United Kingdom Prospective Diabetes Study.

*

None had recommendations or acknowledged that benefits and harms of interventions should be discussed with patients.

†

Not including references, appendices, indices, or separator pages