title: Alzheimer's disease dementia guidelines for diagnostic testing: a systematic review.
abstract: Alzheimer's disease dementia (AD dementia) is one of the most common neurodegenerative diseases worldwide, with a growing incidence during the last decades. Clinical diagnosis of cognitive impairment and presence of AD biomarkers have become important issues for early and adequate treatment. We performed a systematic literature search and quality appraisal of AD dementia guidelines, published between 2005 and 2011, which contained diagnostic recommendations on AD dementia. We also analyzed diagnostic recommendations related to the use of brief cognitive tests, neuropsychological evaluation, and AD biomarkers. Of the 537 retrieved references, 15 met the selection criteria. We found that Appraisal of Guidelines Research and Evaluation (AGREE)-II domains such as applicability and editorial independence had the lowest scores. The wide variability on assessment of quality of evidence and strength of recommendations were the main concerns identified regarding diagnostic testing. Although the appropriate methodology for clinical practice guideline development is well known, the quality of diagnostic AD dementia guidelines can be significantly improved.
authors.affiliation: Grupo de Evaluación de Tecnologías y Políticas en Salud, Clinical Research Institute - School of Medicine, National University of Colombia, Bogotá DC, Colombia. ingrid.arevalo@e-campus.uab.cat
authors.forename: Ingrid
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Arevalo-Rodriguez
authors.forename: Olga L
authors.initials: OL
authors.lastname: Pedraza
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rodríguez
authors.forename: Erick
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sánchez
authors.forename: Ignasi
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Gich
authors.forename: Ivan
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Solà
authors.forename: Xavier
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Bonfill
authors.forename: Pablo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Alonso-Coello
mesh_terms: D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000378:metabolism; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D059906:Neuroimaging; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers