What is the GRADE system?
The GRADE system is an acronym for Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation. It is a system used to grade the quality of evidence. The system involves three steps: Starting grade for quality of evidence based on study design, reducing grade and raising grade. The final grade for quality of evidence can range from high to very low, with high meaning that further research is unlikely to change confidence in the estimate of the effect, and very low meaning that any estimate of effect is very uncertain.