Methological Basis for the Development of Consensus Recommendations

German S3 guideline: anal abscess

“…1). Definitions of strength of evidence, recommendation grade, and strength of consensus have been established [3][4][5] (Tables 1 and 2). In some cases due to a large difference between evidence level and clinical practice, the recommendation grade was defined as "point of clinical consensus."…”

Interdisziplinäre AWMF-Leitlinie zur Diagnostik von primären Immundefekten (S2k)

“…Im Rahmen der strukturierten Konsensfi ndung wurden die einzelnen Kernaussagen mit unterschiedlicher Konsensusstärke verabschiedet [ 27 ] . Neben der inhaltlichen Aussage wurden vor allem auch unterschiedliche sprachliche Formulierungen und Gewichtungen dem Konsensusprozess unterworfen.…”

Laparoscopic sigmoidectomy in Germany—a standardised procedure?

“…This method allowed us to calculate the overall level of consensus by defining that if a question is not answered, there is no routine technique for the respondent. According to Sackett et al [16] and Hoffmann et al [17], the results of this survey for each answer were categorized into four levels of consensus depending on the percentage of the participating surgeons agreeing to the given item. Thus, strong consensus could only be reached by more than 95% agreeing, consensus is defined as 75-95% of participants choosing the same option, whereas overall agreement and no consensus are defined as 50-75% or less than 50% of the participating surgeons doing this option, respectively.…”

“…Thus, strong consensus could only be reached by more than 95% agreeing, consensus is defined as 75-95% of participants choosing the same option, whereas overall agreement and no consensus are defined as 50-75% or less than 50% of the participating surgeons doing this option, respectively. This method of classifying consensus is used by several working groups as a standard instrument for defining clinical guidelines [17].…”