Methodological and reporting quality of Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand clinical guidance documents

The Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand (TSANZ) is the leading Australasian professional society for respiratory medicine that develops clinical practice guidelines and position papers to advance lung health through improved clinical care and research efforts. Published TSANZ clinical guidance documents were identified from the online society repository until March 2023. Each document was independently scored using the Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation II (AGREE II) and the Reporting Items for Practice Guidelines in HealThcare (RIGHT) checklists for methodological and reporting quality respectively. Twenty-eight position papers and seven clinical practice guidelines were evaluated. The median overall methodological quality score for the AGREE II checklist was four out of a maximum of seven (interquartile range (IQR) 3.5-4.75). The majority of documents (97%) were recommended for use with or without modifications. The median overall reporting rate using the RIGHT checklist was 46% (IQR 40-54). Low-scoring items were rigour of evidence synthesis, focus on clinical implementation, conflict of interest declaration and clarity of methodology. Clinical practice guidelines scored significantly higher overall reporting quality than position papers (57% vs. 43%, P = 0.05), but not for the methodological quality scores (median number of high-scoring domains (>70%): 2 vs. 1, P = 0.13). Documents developed with methodologist involvement had significantly increased reporting (71% vs. 43%, P = 0.02) and methodological quality (median high-scoring domains: 4 vs. 1, P = 0.007), compared to those without. Based on AGREE II, most TSANZ clinical guidance documents are recommended for use, or for use with modifications. Applicability, stakeholder involvement and conflict of interest declarations are identified as areas for improvement in future documents.