Appraisal and recommendation synthesis of guidelines and consensuses for interventions of pressure ulcers: A protocol for systematic review

BACKGROUND: Pressure ulcers (PU) bring a considerable physical and mental burden on patients and their families, and have put families and government under tremendous pressure to cover the cost for treatment. Therefore, this protocol proposes to evaluate the quality of existing PU clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) and compare the similarities and differences between its recommendations in order to improve the treatment efficacy and reduce the PU treatment cost. METHODS: Electronic databases and specific databases of CPGs will be searched. Study selection and data collection will be performed independently by two reviewers. The Appraisal of Guidelines for Research & Evaluation II (AGREE II) Instrument and Reporting Items for Practice Guidelines in Healthcare (RIGHT) will be used to assess the methodological quality and reporting quality of included CPGs. Bubble plot will be used to describe the difference of the quality, and mind mapping will be plotted to illustrate the comparison of recommendations of a guideline when needed. R software, MindMaster and Excel will be used. RESULTS: The results of this study will be submitted to a peer-reviewed journal for publication. CONCLUSION: This systematic review will provide comprehensive evidence of CPGs of PU. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42020149176.