Table 3 National Health and Medical Research Council grading of evidence for recommendations [18]

A

Body of evidence can be trusted to guide practice: includes one or more level I studies or several level II studies with low risk of bias directly applied to the target population and demonstrating overall consistency of results.

B

Body of evidence can be trusted to guide practice in most situations: includes one or two studies rated as II or several level III studies with low risk of bias, directly applicable to target population, and demonstrating overall consistency of results.

C

Body of evidence provides some support for recommendation(s) but care should be taken in its application: includes studies rated as III-3 with a low risk of bias or level I or II with a moderate risk of bias, some inconsistency and applicable to target population with caveats. Population studied is different from target population however clinically sensible to apply this evidence to target population.

D

Body of evidence is weak and recommendation must be applied with caution: includes level IV or level I to IV studies with high risk of bias, inconsistent evidence and not applicable to target population.

Good practice point (GPP)

Recommended best practice based on clinical experience and expert opinion.