Table 2. Guideline Recommendations by Class of Recommendation and Level of Evidence.
| Guidelines (No.) | GRADE Methodology Year | Class of Recommendation – Level of Evidence, No. (%)a | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I-A | I-B | I-C | II-A | II-B | II-C | III-A | III-B | III-C | ||
| OA (60) | 2012 | 10.0 (17) | 0 | 3.0 (5) | 19.0 (32) | 9.0 (15) | 9.0 (15) | 6.0 (10) | 1.0 (2) | 3.0 (5) |
| SpA (38) | 2015 | 4.0 (11) | 1.0 (3) | 2.0 (5) | 67.0 (18) | 3.8 (10) | 14.5 (38) | 0.3 (1) | 2.7 (7) | 3.0 (8) |
| PMR (10) | 2015 | 0 | 2.0 (20) | 1.0 (10) | 1.0 (10) | 1.3 (13) | 2.3 (23) | 0 | 1.3 (13) | 1.3 (13) |
| RA (35) | 2015 | 3.0 (9) | 3.3 (9) | 5.6 (16) | 1.6 (5) | 2.8 (8) | 17.7 (50) | 0 | 0 | 1.0 (3) |
| Total (143) | 17.0 (12) | 6.3 (4.4) | 11.6 (8.1) | 28.3 (19.7) | 16.8 (11.7) | 43.4 (30.3) | 6.3 (4.4) | 4.9 (3.4) | 8.3 (5.7) | |
| Median % (IQR) | 10.0 (7-12) | 6.0 (2-12) | 8.0 (5-12) | 14.0 (9-21) | 11.0 (10-13) | 30.0 (21-41) | 0 (0-3) | 4.0 (1-8) | 6.0 (4-9) | |
Abbreviations: GRADE, Grading of Recommendations and Assessment, Development, and Evaluation scoring system; IQR, interquartile range; OA, osteoarthritis; PMR, polymyalgia rheumatica; RA, rheumatoid arthritis; SpA, spondyloarthritis.
a
Class I strength of recommendation was assigned when a given procedure or treatment should be performed or administered (benefit much greater than harm); class II when a procedure or treatment is reasonable or may be considered (benefit greater than or equal to harm); and class III when procedure or treatment is not effective or useful and may be harmful (harm or no benefit).