The Transplant Library - Selection of Guidelines

The Transplant Library database includes clinical practice guidelines on any aspect of solid organ transplantation published since 2005. To be added, the paper must give specific recommendations or guidelines relevant to solid organ transplantation and includes consensus reports, documents and statements.

Identification

Guidelines are identified from searches of the following databases and websites:

  • MedLine
  • NHS Evidence Search
  • Specific relevant professional society websites (see below)

Data Extraction

For every guideline we extract the following data; Author, Year, Title, Organisation, Country, Patient involvement and Funding body.

Patient Involvement

For a guideline to qualify as a “yes” for patient involvement, it must be explicitly described in the guideline document that a patient representative was included in the working group and contributed to the development of the guideline. Without such a statement, the guideline will be classified as a “No” for patient involvement.

Quality Assessment using the AGREE II instrument

The Agree II instrument is a widely accepted international tool for the assessment of clinical practice guidelines and we plan to assess all guidelines included in the Transplant Library using the AGREE II tool in due course.

Using the instrument, reviewers will score the guideline across six domains including:

  • Domain 1: Scope and Purpose
  • Domain 2: Stakeholder Involvement
  • Domain 3: Rigour of Development
  • Domain 4: Clarity of Presentation
  • Domain 5: Applicability
  • Domain 6: Editorial Independence

Reviewers will also rating the overall quality of the guideline and whether they would recommend the guideline for further use.

Further information on the Agree Enterprise and the Agree II instrument can be located at: http://www.agreetrust.org.

Included Societies

Guidelines produced or endorsed by the societies below are currently included in the Transplant Library.

  • AASLD – American association for the study of liver diseases
  • ABTO - Brazilian Association of Organ Transplantation
  • AOPO - Association of Organ Procurement Organizations
  • ASN - American Society of Nephrology
  • AST - American Society of Transplantation
  • ASTS - American Society of Transplant Surgeons
  • British Renal Association
  • British Society for Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics
  • BTS - British Transplantation Society
  • CST - Canadian Society of Transplantation
  • EAU - European Association of Urology
  • ERA-EDTA [ERBP] - European Renal Association-European Dialysis and Transplantation Association
  • ESOT - European Society of Organ Transplantation
  • ESPN - European Society for Paediatric Nephrology
  • ISHLT – International society for Heart and Lung Transplantation
  • IPTA - International Society for Paediatric Transplantation
  • KDIGO – Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcomes
  • KHA CARI - Kidney Health Australia – Caring for Australasians with Renal Impairment
  • NHSBT - NHS Blood and Transplant
  • NICE - National Institute for Health and Care Excellence
  • TSANZ - The Transplantation Society of Australia and New Zealand
  • TTS - The Transplantation Society
  • UK Renal Association
  • US Public Health Service
  • WHO – World Health Organization

Future guidelines

We regularly search for new guidelines to be added to the Transplant Library. If your society has produced a guideline that you believe should be included in the Transplant Library, please send it to us at [email protected].