Methodology
From AAUS
1. The Guidelines for urinary tract infections (UTIs) and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) have been developed by the Guideline Development Group organized by the Asian Association of UTI and STI (AAUS).
2. The members have meticulously reviewed relevant references, retrieved via the PubMed and MEDLINE databases, published between 2009 through 2015. Furthermore, the International Consultation on Urological Diseases (ICUD) book of "Urogenital Infections" (2010)[1] covering the topic UTIs and STIs have been looked through for systematic literature searches performed until 2008 or 2009.
3. The information identified through the literature review of other resources was supplemented by the author.
4. Level of Evidence & Grade of Recommendation for each management was made according to the following strategy. References used in the guidelines have been assessed according to the level of scientific evidence involved and guideline recommendations have also been evaluated according to the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research.[2]
5. For each subsection, the conclusion(s) drawn from the relevant articles and evidence levels have been judged using a Grade of Guideline Recommendation.
LEVELS OF EVIDENCE
Level |
Type of evidence |
1a |
Evidence obtained from meta-analysis of randomized trials |
1b |
Evidence obtained from at least one randomized trial |
2a |
Evidence obtained from one well-designed controlled study without randomisation |
2b |
Evidence obtained from at least one other type of well-designed quasi-experimental study |
3 |
Evidence obtained from well-designed non-experimental studies, such as comparative studies, correlation studies and case reports |
4 |
Evidence obtained from expert committee reports or opinions or clinical experience of respected authorities |
GRADES OF GUIDELINE RECOMMENDATIONS
Grade |
Nature of recommendations |
A |
Based on clinical studies of good quality and consistency addressing the specific recommendations and including at least one randomized trial |
B |
Based on well-conducted clinical studies, but without randomized clinical trials |
C |
Made despite the absence of directly applicable clinical studies of good quality |
1. European Association of Urology. Urogenital Infections. Edition 2010.
http://www.icud.info/urogenitalinfections.html
2. Clinical Practice Guidelines Development: Methodological Perspectives. Washington DC: US
Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service; 1992, pp. 115-127