Methodological quality of Russian clinical guidelines: a meta-epidemiological study

Objective. To assess the methodological quality of Russian clinical guidelines using standards developed by specialists at the Center for Expertise and Quality Control of Medical Care. Material and methods. A meta-epidemiological study included clinical guidelines for the treatment of children. These guidelines were published on the website of the Russian Ministry of Health and approved in 2024. Quality of guidelines was assessed in several stages. The first stage implied analysis of availability and completeness of information provided in section “Methodology of clinical guidelines”. The second stage assessed compliance of the stated development process with the actual one. All references included in abstracts of guidelines were checked for availability in appropriate databases and compliance with stated searching depth and appropriate publication type. Results. The study included 51 clinical guidelines. All guidelines provided information on methodology. However, comprehensiveness varied and was often insufficient. All guidelines did not provide criteria for inclusion of evidence sources or strategy for their searching and selection. Critical assessment of quality of sources was provided in only one-third of guidelines. Systematic and/or statistical methods of data analysis were not described in all guidelines. Assessment of compliance of the stated development process with the actual one was possible for only half of guidelines. The stated development process matched the actual one in none case. Conclusion. The recently approved Russian clinical guidelines are characterized by unsatisfactory methodological quality and do not comply with the stated development process.