Published: June 27, 2018

Research & quality in demand

The multidisciplinary AAO-HNSF clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) have been endorsed by many medical and surgical societies, have received national attention in the media, and are highly rated by the National Guideline Clearinghouse.


AAO-HNSF guidelines highly cited, well received

The multidisciplinary AAO-HNSF clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) have been endorsed by many medical and surgical societies, have received national attention in the media, and are highly rated by the National Guideline Clearinghouse. Citations for CPGs and clinical consensus statements (CCSs) now exceed 6,100, and all the 2017 top 10 most accessed articles from Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery were guideline products, totaling over 198,900 downloads. Moreover, the CPGs provide the foundation for quality measure development for AAO-HNSF and other physician societies.

7552

To help educate members about the clinical practice guidelines, 25 CME activities and 67 ABOto Self-Assessment Modules / Performance Improvement Modules have been linked to the pertinent guideline webpages www.entnet.org/content/clinical-practice-guidelines.

In the past year, the following CPGs and CCSs were completed or initiated:

Five-year updates

  • CPG: Hoarseness (Dysphonia) (March 2018)
  • CPG: Tonsillectomy in Children (in progress)
  • CPG: Sudden Hearing Loss (in progress)

New products

  • CPG: Evaluation of the Neck Mass in Adults (September 2017)
  • CCS: Balloon Dilation of the Sinuses (February 2018)
  • CCS: Balloon Dilation of the Eustachian Tube (in progress)
  • CPG: Nosebleed (Epistaxis) (in progress)
  • CPG: Meniere’s Disease (in progress)

Our senior CPG Methodologists, Richard M. Rosenfeld, MD, MPH, and Seth R. Schwartz, MD, MPH, have trained additional members to become guideline methodologists and continue to provide feedback to new “graduates” as they take the lead on new and updated guidelines. Our current methodologists in training include:  Stacey L. Ishman, MD, MPH; David E. Tunkel, MD; Lisa E. Ishii, MD, MHS; and Sujana S. Chandrasekhar, MD.

The Guideline Task Force, composed of representatives from every subspecialty society, continues to meet in both the spring and fall for training, updates, and to review new CPG and CCS topics. In addition to the new products in progress as outlined above, the current queue includes five-year updates for the Clinical Practice Guideline Development Manual and a CPG on tympanostomy tubes. A new guideline is scheduled to begin later this year for the surgical management of rhinosinusitis.

Topics for CPGs and CCSs can be submitted June – August and November – March. Submission forms are available at www.entnet.org/content/guideline-task-force-gtf.


More from July 2018 – Vol. 37, No. 6