Characteristics of recommendations
| Characteristic | Guidelines topic and year of publication | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Major depression in adults, 2008 (15) | Obesity in childhood and adolescence, 2009 (18) | Prostate cancer treatment, 2008 (16) | Secondary prevention of stroke, 2009 (17) | ||
| Sample size, no. | |||||
| Clinical questions | 8 | 10 | 16 | 9 | 43 |
| Recommendations | 26 | 29 | 36 | 22 | 113 |
| SIGN strength of recommendations, no. (%) | |||||
| A | 4 (15.4) | 0 (0.0) | 5 (13.9) | 9 (40.9) | 18 (15.9) |
| B | 8 (30.8) | 6 (20.7) | 3 (8.3) | 5 (22.7) | 22 (19.5) |
| C | 2 (7.7) | 3 (10.3) | 2 (5.6) | 2 (9.1) | 9 (8.0) |
| D | 1 (3.8) | 1 (3.4) | 11 (30.6) | 0 (0.0) | 13 (11.5) |
| Good practice point | 11 (42.3) | 19 (65.5) | 15 (41.7) | 6 (27.3) | 51 (45.1) |
| Clinical purpose, no. (%) | |||||
| Prevention | 0 (0.0) | 25 (86.2) | 0 (0.0) | 22 (100.0) | 47 (41.6) |
| Screening | 3 (11.5) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 3 (2.7) |
| Treatment | 23 (88.5) | 0 (0.0) | 36 (100.0) | 0 (0.0) | 59 (52.2) |
| Other | 0 (0.0) | 4 (13.8) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 4 (3.5) |
| Turnover, no. (%) | |||||
| No references | 4 (15.4) | 7 (24.1) | 11 (30.6) | 6 (27.3) | 28 (24.8) |
| Low | 12 (46.2) | 11 (37.9) | 13 (36.1) | 8 (36.4) | 44 (38.9) |
| High | 10 (38.5) | 11 (37.9) | 12 (33.3) | 8 (36.4) | 41 (36.3) |
Note: SIGN = Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network.