Clinical Practice Guidelines

AAO-HNS Clinical Practice Guidelines and Clinical Consensus Statements

The AAO-HNS  began the development of Clinical Practice Guidelines in 2006.  Guidelines are developed using an efficient and transparent methodology which is documented in the Clinical Practice Guideline Manual (See: Tools for Developing Guidelines).  Below is a list of the AAO-HNS clinical practice guidelines and clinical consensus statements.

Clinical practice guideline: Polysomnography for Sleep Disordered Breathing Prior to Tonsillectomy in Children - July 2011

Clinical practice guideline: Tonsillectomy in Children - January 2011

Clinical consensus statement:  Diagnosis and management of nasal valve compromise - July 2010

Clinical practice guideline: Hoarseness (Dysphonia) - September 2009

Clinical practice guideline: Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV) - November 2008

Clinical practice guideline: Cerumen Impaction - September 2008

Clinical practice guideline: Adult Sinusitis - September 2007 

Clinical practice guideline: Acute Otitis Externa - April 2006

Other Academy Endorsed Guidelines

Practice Advisory for the Prevention and Management of Operating Room Fires- May 2008

Otitis Media with Effusion- May 2004

Clinical Practice Guidelines and Consensus Statements Under Development

Clinical consensus statement: CT Imaging Indications for Paranasal Sinus Disease

Clinical practice guideline: Sudden Hearing Loss - for more information click here.

Tools for Developing Guidelines

Clinical Practice Guideline Development Manual: A Quality Driven Approach for Translating Evidence Into Action

Guideline Development Task Force (GDTF)

The GDTF  has been established to review and prioritize topics submitted for guideline development.  The GDTF is comprised of representatives from multiple specialty and subspecialty societies.  The group meets biannually to review guideline development progress and to prioritize upcoming work products. 

GDTF Mission

• Review the need for policy statements and guidelines and develop consistency in the message presented to external entities
• Prioritize and categorize topics for development of evidence-based and consensus-based guidelines
• Review existing guidelines created by other medical specialty societies and organizations and recommend guidelines appropriate for endorsement to the AAO-HNS Board of Directors
• Coordinate volunteers across subspecialty societies
• Assure appropriate specialty society representation on guideline panels

GDTF Resources

• 2011 Fall GDTF Newsletter
• 2010 Summer GDTF Newsletter
• 2010 Winter GDTF Newsletter
• 2009 Summer GDTF Newsletter

Guideline Topic Submission

The GDTF is currently accepting submission of topics for future guideline development. Please complete the topic submission form and submit your completed proposal to QualityImprovement@entnet.org

GDTF Topic Submission Form

Clinical Practice Guideline Databases

AHRQ National Guideline Clearinghouse: A public resource for evidence-based clinical practice guidelines. NGC is an initiative of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS).

Guidelines International Network: The Guidelines International Network (G-I-N) is an international not-for-profit association of organizations and individuals involved in clinical practice guidelines. G-I-N seeks to improve the quality of health care by promoting systematic development of clinical practice guidelines and their application into practice, through supporting international collaboration. G-I-N’s Guideline Library contains regularly-updated information about guidelines of the G-I-N membership. 

Cochrane Library: Cochrane Reviews are systematic reviews of primary research in human health care and health policy. They investigate the effects of interventions (literally meaning to intervene to modify an outcome) for prevention, treatment and rehabilitation. They also assess the accuracy of a diagnostic test for a given condition in a specific patient group and setting.