Table 2.

Criteria for determination of the certainty of evidence (A) and interpretation of the strength of recommendations (B)

A	Criteria for determining the certainty of evidence
High	Very confident that the true effect lies close to that of the estimate of the effect.
Moderate	Moderately confident in the effect estimate. The true effect is likely to be close to the estimate of the effect, but there is a possibility that it is substantially different.
Low	Confidence in the effect estimate is limited. The true effect may be substantially different from the estimate of the effect.
Very low	Very little confidence in the effect estimate. The true effect is likely to be substantially different from the estimate of effect.
B	Interpretation of the strength of recommendation
Strong recommendation	Strong recommendations communicate the message that the guideline is based on the confidence that the desirable effects of adherence to the recommendation outweigh the undesirable consequences.
Conditional recommendations	Conditional recommendations are made when there is less certainty about the balance between the benefits and harms or disadvantages of implementing a recommendation, or if the recommendations might not be applicable to all the population group.