The pharmacological management of adults with chronic-phase Chagas disease is challenging despite it being the recent focus of extensive research. One of the challenges in the current clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) landscape is the existence of nonevidence-based recommendations for the use of laboratory tests in treatment monitoring. This study aimed to systematically assess the quality and consistency of recommendations of CPGs on the pharmacological management of adults with chronicphase Chagas disease. Systematic literature searches were conducted in MEDLINE, EMBASE, SciELO and Google to identify all published CPGs relevant to the pharmacological management of Chagas disease, between January 2010 and March 2016. Three independent reviewers assessed the quality of each CPG using the Appraisal of Guidelines Research and Evaluation (AGREE) II instrument. A total of fi ve CPGs were included and the overall quality of the guidelines for therapeutic drug monitoring of Chagas disease was moderate-to-low. There was considerable variation in the quality of the CPGs across the AGREE II domains. The domains of scope/purpose, stakeholder involvement, and clarity of presentation were rated well, and the domains of applicability and editorial independence received poor ratings. This review showed that the methodological quality of CPGs for Chagas disease was generally inappropriate, and there was no explicit link between the best available evidence and current recommendations.

Introduction:The development of clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) has increased; this study aimed to assess the quality of CPGs for the management of Chagas disease. Methods: Following a systematic search of the scientifi c literature, two reviewers assessed the eligible guidelines using the Appraisal of Guidelines Research and Evaluation (AGREE) II instrument. Results: Five CPGs were included. The AGREE domains of scope/purpose, stakeholder involvement, and clarity of presentation were rated well, and the domains of applicability and editorial independence received poor ratings. Conclusions: The quality of CPGs for Chagas disease is poor, and signifi cant work is required to develop high-quality guidelines.