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How to appraise clinical guidelines

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

James P. Warner  and
Robert Blizard
James P. Warner*
Affiliation:
University Department of Psychiatry, Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine, Rowland Hill Street, London NW3 2QG
Robert Blizard
Affiliation:
University Department of Psychiatry, Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine, Rowland Hill Street, London NW3 2QG
*
∗Correspondence
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Abstract

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Aims and method

We critically appraised clinical guidelines for the use of antidepressants, using an evidence-based approach.

Results

We were unable to identify recent guidelines. The appraisal tool we used failed to identify some of the difficulties now apparent when considering the validity and utility of guidelines.

Clinical implications

Critical appraisal tools are useful in providing a framework for assessing published material, but run the risk of blinding us with their simplicity.

Type
Evidence-Based Psychiatry
Information
Psychiatric Bulletin , Volume 22 , Issue 12 , December 1998 , pp. 759 - 761
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
Copyright © 1998 The Royal College of Psychiatrists

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