Therapeutic guidelines on ulcerative colitis: a GRADE methodology based effort of GETECCU

Background and aim: Evidence-based clinical guidelines on Ulcerative colitis (UC) have been developed through a consensus, while GRADE methodology is the current standard for guideline development. This is the first one based on GRADE methodology on UC.

Methods: Following GRADE methodology, the Spanish Group of Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn's disease (GETECCU) have developed a guideline on UC treatment. After selection of relevant clinical scenarios, 32 clinical questions were chosen and recommendations were established.

Results: In 2 questions no recommendation was possible. Twenty-two actions were recommended for, 14 strongly and 8 weakly. However, in 8 questions a recommendation against doing something was obtained, weak in 5 and strong in 3. The majority of recommendations were based on moderate quality evidence, and only 5 on high-quality evidence.

Conclusions: With GRADE methodology we find a clear recommendation on possible actions in most clinical decisions in UC treatment, but much more clinical high-quality research is needed.