A protocol for developing a clinical practice guideline for intra-articular injection for treating knee osteoarthritis

INTRODUCTION: Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most prevalent disorder of articulating joints in humans. As one of the steps of advanced pharmacological management, intra-articular treatment is applied in knee OA. However, there is no clinical practice guideline (CPG) involving intra-articular injection for knee OA. Here, we will develop a CPG according to a recognized methodology. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: We will develop the new CPG according to the Institute of Medicine, the Appraisal of Guidelines for Research & Evaluation Ⅱ (AGREE Ⅱ), and WHO guideline handbook and make recommendations based on systematic reviews. We will establish a Guideline Working Group (including a Guideline Steering Subgroup, a Guideline Development Subgroup, and a Guideline Secretary Subgroup); formulate clinical questions in the form of Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcomes (PICO); and complete a literature search. The consensus will be developed through evidence syntheses and the Delphi method. We will also consider patients’ values or preferences, peer review results, and declaration of interests in developing CPG. The present CPG was registered on the International Practice Guidelines Registry Platform (http://www.guidelines-registry.org/), and the registration number is IPGRP-2016CN004. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The protocol will provide us a roadmap to systematically develop evidence-based CPG for intra-articular injection for knee OA. The work will be disseminated electronically and in print. The guideline would be the first CPG that is developed primarily by orthopedic specialists in China and strictly based on systematic methodology.