Critical appraisal of dyslipidaemia clinical practice guidelines: a scoping review

Background information: Dyslipidaemia, the unbalanced level of lipoproteins and triglycerides, contributes to or aggravates cardiovascular diseases. In 2019, high LDL-c levels were responsible for 5 million deaths worldwide. Several clinical practice guidelines (CPG) about dyslipidaemia aiming at guiding healthcare professionals towards more assertive decisions exist. However, previous studies reported low quality of the clinical content and evidence supporting recommendations provided by CPGs in different areas, and a lack of involvement of multi-professional experts and stakeholders, such as pharmacists, in their development. This may lead to inconsistencies and risk of bias in decision-making and negatively impact patients’ outcomes. The quality of CPG can be assessed through Appraisal of Guidelines, Research and Evaluation (AGREE) tools as the AGREE II (methodological assessment) and AGREE REX (clinical recommendations). Purpose: We aim to evaluate the quality of available CPG on dyslipidaemia and assess the extent of involvement of stakeholders using AGREE II and AGREE REX appraisal tools.