CPGs characteristics and development methods for recommendations
| First author | Year | Country | Organisational affiliation | Journal | Multidisciplinary team | Target group | Evidence based | Grading system |
| Arroll38 | 2003 | New Zealand | NZGG* | External document | Four PTs; one MSK radiologist; one public health; four OSs; six non-specified medical doctors; one pain specialist; one psychologist; two sports physicians; two consumers | Health professionals and consumers | Systematic review of systematic reviews, meta-analysis, RCTs or quasi-RCTs | Studies: SIGN (revised) Recomm: A-C, I |
| Meuffels36 | 2012 | Netherlands | Dutch Orthopaedic Association | Acta Orthop | Two PTs; eight OSs; one sports medicine expert; two medical professional quality assessors | All members of medical disciplines concerned with diagnosis and treatment of ACL injuries | Search for existing guidelines and systematic review for RCTs and systematic reviews. When insufficient data, systematic review of case-control and cohort studies. | Studies: A1, A2, B, C, D Recomm: 1–4 |
| Wright34 | 2014 | USA | MOON | Sports Health | Seven PTs; twenty-one OSs; four sports medicine researchers/experts | Practicing PTs and ACL-injured people (from nonathlete to elite athlete) | Systematic reviews of level I and level II evidence | No criteria, solely based on the included RCTs |
| Shea33 | 2015 | USA | AAOS† |
J Am Acad Orthop Surg
J Bone Joint Surg Am External document | Twelve OSs; one athletic trainer; one sports medicine expert | OSs and physicians managing patients with ACL injuries and other stakeholder involved (insurance payers, governmental bodies, health policy decision makers and other related healthcare professionals) | Systematic review of clinical cohort studies | Studies: adapted from GRADE Recomm: 1–4 |
| van Melick37 | 2016 | Netherlands | KNGF | Br J Sports Med | Three PTs; one OSs; one trauma surgeon; one sports medicine expert | PTs involved in rehabilitation after ACL reconstruction | Systematic review of systematic reviews, meta-analysis, RCTs and prospective cohort studies | Studies: EBRO Recomm: 1–4 (EBRO) |
| Logerstedt35 | 2017 | USA | APTA | J Orthop Sports Phys Ther | Five PTs; three OSs; one sports medicine expert | Policymakers, payers, orthopaedic PTs, orthopaedic PT clinicians, academic instructors, clinical instructors, students, interns, residents, and fellows | Systematic review of systematic reviews, meta-analyses, experimental and quasi-experimental, cohort, case series, and cross-sectional studies | Studies: I–V (CEBM) Recomm: A–F |
*Has received endorsement from Arthritis New Zealand; Effective Practice, Informatics and Quality Improvement (EPIQ); New Zealand Society of Physiotherapists; NZ Association of Musculoskeletal Medicine; Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologist; Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners; Sports Medicine New Zealand; The New Zealand Orthopaedic Association.
†Has received inputs from the National Athletic Trainer’s Association, American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, American College of Sports Medicine, American Medical Society for Sports Medicine, American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine and the National Academy of Sports Medicine.
AAOS, American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons; APTA, American Physical Therapy Association; CEBM, Centre Evidence-Based Medicine (Oxford); CPG, clinical practice guidelines; EBRO, Evidence- Based Richtkijn (Guideline) Ontwikkeling (Development); GRADE, Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation; KNGF, Royal Dutch Society for Physical Therapy; MOON, Multicenter Orthopaedic Outcomes Network; MSK, musculoskeletal; OSs, orthopaedic surgeons; PTs, physical therapists; RCTs, randomised controlled trials; Recomm, recommendations.