What are GRADE guidelines?
GRADE guidelines are a set of internationally accepted standards for rating the quality of evidence and strength of recommendations. They were developed by the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) Working Group and were first published in 2004. The GRADE guidelines are used by healthcare practitioners, researchers, and policy makers to evaluate and assess the quality and strength of evidence and recommendations. They are based on the best available evidence and aim to provide a balanced and transparent approach to decision making. The GRADE guidelines have been published in two papers: Brunetti et al. (2011) and Shemilt et al. (2013). The guidelines are available at www.kidney-international.org.