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Lessons Learned from Nutrition Guidelines and Evidence-Based Medicine

  • Gastroenterology and Nutrition (SA McClave, Section Editor)
  • Published:
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Abstract

Clinical practice guidelines help health care providers two ways, through organizing the literature by topical categories and by providing treatment strategies which should theoretically result in optimal patient outcomes. The adoption of the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) classification system has helped standardize the process by which the literature is evaluated and guidelines are reported. The body of scientific data which ultimately drives patient management comes in all forms, however, from expert opinion and clinical experience to prospective randomized trials and meta-analysis. Overreliance on methodology and levels of evidence can lead to spurious results when interpreting the literature. Modifications of the GRADE process and innovations in the manner by which committees evaluate the supportive evidence may improve the value of clinical guidelines to the practitioner in the future.

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Papers of particular interest, published recently, have been highlighted as: •• Of major importance

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Conflict of Interest

Stephen A. McClave has received speaker’s honoraria from Nestlé, Abbott, and Metagenics; has received compensation from Nestlé, Abbott, Metagenics, and Covidien for service as a consultant; and has received research support from Nestlé.

Pierre Singer declares he has no conflict of interest.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medicine, University of Louisville School of Medicine, Louisville, KY, USA

    Stephen A. McClave

  2. Department of Critical Care Medicine, Institute for Nutrition Research, Rabin Medical Center, Petah Tikva, Israel

    Pierre Singer

  3. Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition, University of Louisville School of Medicine, Louisville, KY, 40202, USA

    Stephen A. McClave

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  1. Stephen A. McClave
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  2. Pierre Singer
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Correspondence to Stephen A. McClave.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Gastroenterology and Nutrition

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McClave, S.A., Singer, P. Lessons Learned from Nutrition Guidelines and Evidence-Based Medicine. Curr Nutr Rep 4, 242–249 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13668-015-0130-x

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