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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2011 May 27.
Published in final edited form as: Biol Blood Marrow Transplant. 2009 Oct;15(10):1143–1238. doi: 10.1016/j.bbmt.2009.06.019

Table 1.

Evidence-based rating system used in the Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation (HCT) Guidelines [2]

Strength of Recommendation
Category Definition
A Both strong evidence for efficacy and substantial clinical benefit support recommendation for use. Should always be offered
B Moderate evidence for efficacy—or strong evidence for efficacy, but only limited clinical benefit—supports recommendation for use. Should generally be offered.
C Evidence for efficacy is insufficient to support a recommendation for or against use, or evidence for efficacy might not outweigh adverse consequences, (e.g., drug toxicity, drug interactions), or cost of the chemoprophylaxis or alternative approaches. Optional.
D Moderate evidence for lack of efficacy or for adverse outcome supports a recommendation against use. Should generally not be offered.
E Good evidence for lack of efficacy or for adverse outcome supports a recommendation against use. Should never be offered.
Quality of Evidence supporting the recommendation
Category Definition
I Evidence from at least one well-executed randomized, controlled trial
II Evidence from at least one well-designed clinical trial without randomization; cohort or case-controlled analytic studies (preferably from more than one center); multiple time-series studies; or dramatic results from uncontrolled experiments
III Evidence from opinions of respected authorities based on clinical experience, descriptive studies, or reports of expert committees