Grading of Clinical Practice Recommendations

The recommendations included in this guideline are based on the summaries of evidence for the management of menopausal symptoms in women with a history of breast cancer. Practice Points and supporting information are also provided. Practice Points are based on expert opinion when the evidence to make a recommendation is insufficient or when the evidence is outside the scope of the systematic review.

All recommendations have been graded using the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) FORM methodology.10 The NHMRC grades (A-D) assigned to the recommendations are intended to indicate the strength of the body of evidence underpinning the recommendations (refer to Table 1). Appendix 1 provides further detail of the NHMRC FORM grading methodology and the process undertaken in the grading of all recommendations contained in this guideline. See also Appendix 2 for Evidence summaries underpinning all recommendations.

Table 1: Definition of NHMRC grades of recommendations10, 11

Grade of recommendation Description

A

Body of evidence can be trusted to guide practice

B

Body of evidence can be trusted to guide practice in most situations

C

Body of evidence provides some support for recommendation(s) but care should be taken in its application

D

Body of evidence is weak and recommendation must be applied with caution