ObjectiveTo evaluate the quality of the clinical practice guidelines of acupuncture in China, in order to identify the status quo and challenges in the development of guidelines.
MethodsWe evaluated the quality of the 5 clinical practice guidelines of acupuncture in China through the guideline appraisal instrument "Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation Ⅱ" (AGREE Ⅱ). Four appraisers rated 6 domains of each guideline independently.
ResultsFrom the assessment with AGREE Ⅱ, the mean scores of the six domains were as follows: "scope and purpose"55%, "stakeholder involvement" 27%, "rigor of development" 4%, "clarity of presentation" 55%, "applicability" 4%, and "editorial independence" 1%.
ConclusionThe quantity of acupuncture guidelines is small and their quality is low due to the lack of methodological issues.
