1.Variations in management strategies for stable coronary artery disease in the Asia-Pacific region: Insights from a multinational survey.
Lucky CUENZA ; Satoshi HONDA ; Khi Yung FONG ; Mitsuaki SAWANO ; F Aaysha CADER ; Purich SURUNCHUPAKORN ; Wishnu Aditya WIDODO ; Mayank DALAKOTI ; Jeehoon KANG ; Misato CHIMURA ; Mohammed AL-OMARY ; Zhen-Vin LEE ; Novi Yanti SARI ; Thanawat SUESAT ; Tanveer AHMAD ; Jose Donato MAGNO ; Chen Ting TAN ; Badai Bhatara TIKSNADI ; Uditha HEWARATHNA ; Faisal HABIB ; Derek Pok Him LEE ; Jonathan YAP
Annals of the Academy of Medicine, Singapore 2025;54(5):283-295
INTRODUCTION:
Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) have informed guideline recommendations for the management of stable coronary artery disease (CAD). However, the real-world impact of contemporary guidelines and trials on practising physicians in the Asia-Pacific region remains uncertain. We aimed to evaluate the knowledge, attitudes and practices among cardiovascular physicians in the region regarding stable CAD management.
METHOD:
An anonymised cross-sectional electronic survey was administered to cardiovascular practitioners from the Asia Pacific, assessing 3 domains: 1) baseline knowledge on recent trials and society guideline, 2) attitudes towards stable CAD, and 3) case scenarios reflecting management preferences. Correlations among knowledge, attitudes and practice scores were assessed between physicians from developed and developing countries using Pearson correlation.
RESULTS:
Overall, 713 respondents from 21 countries completed the survey. The mean knowledge score was 2.90±1.18 (out of 4), with 37.3% of respondents answering all questions correctly, while 74.6% noted that guidelines have significant impact on their practice. Despite guidelines recommending optimal medical therapy, majority chose revascularisation (range 53.4- 90.6%) as the preferred strategy for the case scenarios. Practitioners from developed regions had higher knowledge scores and lower attitude scores compared to developing regions, while practice scores were similar in both groups. Weakly positive correlations were noted between knowledge, attitude and practice scores.
CONCLUSION
Variations exist in knowledge and attitudes towards guideline recommendations and correspondingly actual clinical practice in the Asia Pacific, with most practitioners choosing an upfront invasive strategy for the treatment of stable CAD. These differences reflect real-world disparities in guideline interpretation and clinical adoption.
Humans
;
Coronary Artery Disease/therapy*
;
Cross-Sectional Studies
;
Practice Patterns, Physicians'/statistics & numerical data*
;
Asia
;
Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
;
Surveys and Questionnaires
;
Male
;
Practice Guidelines as Topic
;
Female
;
Attitude of Health Personnel
;
Middle Aged
;
Developing Countries
2.Challenges and strategies for implementing the STAR tool for comprehensive evaluation of guidelines: A qualitative study with Chinese clinicians.
Nan YANG ; Xu WANG ; Hongfeng HE ; Jungang ZHAO ; Yishan QIN ; Yueyan LI ; Janne ESTILL ; Junmin WEI ; Yaolong CHEN
Chinese Medical Journal 2025;138(21):2681-2692
BACKGROUND:
The STAR (Scientific, Transparent, and Applicable Rankings) working group conducts regular evaluations of Chinese guidelines and consensus statements. This study gathered insights from STAR working group members using qualitative interviews.
METHODS:
From March to August 2023, members of the STAR specialist committees were interviewed using semi-structured interview outline. The interviewees were selected through purpose-based sampling. Subject analysis was employed to summarize the findings.
RESULTS:
We conducted interviews with 37 members from 36 committees and summarized the contents into four main themes and 16 specific topics. The value of STAR in enhancing the development and selection of high-quality guidelines in China was commonly mentioned. Challenges identified included the lack of resources and suboptimal organizational structures, collaboration, and evaluation efficiency. Suggestions for the STAR tool included developing extensions for different guideline types, adjusting certain items, and better covering guideline applicability. The promotion of STAR and the consideration of an international committee for global outreach were also highlighted.
CONCLUSION
STAR has exerted a substantial influence on the evaluation of Chinese guidelines, and the insights gained from interviews offer valuable directions for its further enhancement.
Humans
;
China
;
Qualitative Research
;
Practice Guidelines as Topic
;
Interviews as Topic
3.Prescribing rate, healthcare utilization, and expenditure of older adults using potentially inappropriate medications in China: A nationwide cross-sectional study.
Zinan ZHAO ; Mengyuan FU ; Can LI ; Zhiwen GONG ; Ting LI ; Kexin LING ; Huangqianyu LI ; Jianchun LI ; Weihang CAO ; Dongzhe HONG ; Xin HU ; Luwen SHI ; Xiaodong GUAN ; Pengfei JIN
Chinese Medical Journal 2025;138(23):3163-3167
BACKGROUND:
The use of potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) is a major concern for medication safety as it may entail more harm than potential benefits for older adults. This study aimed to explore the prescribing rate, healthcare utilization, and expenditure of older adults using PIMs in China.
METHODS:
A cross-sectional analysis was conducted using a national representative database of all medical insurance beneficiaries across China, extracting ambulatory visit records of adults aged 65 years and above between 2015 and 2017. Descriptive analysis was conducted to measure the rate of patients exposed to PIM, prescribing rate of each PIM, average annual outpatient visits per patient, average total medication costs for each visit, average annual cost of PIMs for each patient, and average annual medication costs for each patient. Generalized linear model with logit link function and binomial distribution was used to examine the adjusted associations between PIMs and independent variables.
RESULTS:
In total, 845,278 (33.2%) participants were identified to be exposed to at least one PIM. Patients aged 75-84 years (38.1%, 969,809/2,545,430) and ≥85 years (37.9%, 964,718/2,545,430) were more likely to be prescribed with PIMs. Beneficiaries of the Urban Employee Basic Medical Insurance (UEBMI) and living in eastern and southern regions were more frequently prescribed with PIMs. Compared with patients without PIM exposure (7.5 visits, drug cost of RMB 1545.0 Yuan), patients with PIM exposure showed higher adjusted average annual number of outpatient visits (10.7 visits, β = 3.228, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 3.196-3.261) and higher annual drug costs (RMB 2461.8 Yuan, Coef. = 916.864, 95% CI = RMB 906.292-927.436 Yuan).
CONCLUSIONS
The results showed that the use of PIM among older adults was common in China. This study suggests that the use of PIM could be considered as a clear target, pending multidimensional efforts, to promote rational prescribing for older adults.
Humans
;
Aged
;
Cross-Sectional Studies
;
Aged, 80 and over
;
Male
;
Female
;
China
;
Inappropriate Prescribing/economics*
;
Patient Acceptance of Health Care/statistics & numerical data*
;
Potentially Inappropriate Medication List/statistics & numerical data*
;
Health Expenditures/statistics & numerical data*
4.Guidelines for diagnosis and treatment of abdominal wall incision hernia (2024 edition).
Chinese Journal of Surgery 2025;63(2):95-101
Incisional hernia is a type of iatrogenic disease, and its clinical treatment is complicated. In recent years, there have been new advances in the diagnosis, surgical methods, and materials science of incisional hernias. On the basis of the Guidelines for diagnosis and treatment of abdominal wall incisional hernia (2018 edition), more than 70 experts and scholars over the country have discussed the consultation and modified the issues such as complex abdominal wall conditions, loss of domain, principles of incisional hernia treatment, techniques of abdominal wall hernia defects closure, perioperative management, and follow-up in this new edition, combined with evidence-based medical evaluation standards. The relevant medical institutions and peers in China are requested to carry out the actual clinical reference.
Humans
;
Abdominal Wall/surgery*
;
Incisional Hernia/therapy*
;
Herniorrhaphy/methods*
;
Practice Guidelines as Topic
5.Technical guidelines for minimally invasive surgery in liver transplant recipients(2025).
Chinese Journal of Surgery 2025;63(10):859-865
Liver transplantation is an effective treatment for end-stage liver disease. Liver transplantation is technically complex and associated with significant trauma. In recent years,minimally invasive surgical techniques,such as laparoscopy and robotic surgery,have rapidly developed and been widely applied across various surgical fields. Minimally invasive surgery offers advantages including reduced trauma,less bleeding,and faster postoperative recovery,and has become a mainstream trend in surgical development. In the field of liver transplantation,laparoscopic and robotic donor hepatectomy techniques for living donor liver transplantation have made significant progress. However, due to difficulties in exposing the anastomotic sites of the donor liver and challenges in vascular anastomosis,the application of minimally invasive techniques in donor liver implantation has progressed relatively slowly. With advancements in laparoscopic and robotic surgical techniques and related instruments,laparoscopic donor liver implantation has gradually become feasible. Currently,multiple liver transplant centers worldwide have begun to progressively perform laparoscopic or robot-assisted liver transplantation in recipients,demonstrating potential advantages in reducing surgical trauma and accelerating postoperative recovery. However,there is currently a lack of guidelines or consensus on the application of minimally invasive surgery in liver transplant recipients. Therefore,Branch of Organ Transplantation of Chinese Medical Association,Surgery Group of Chinese Society of Surgery of Chinese Medical Association,and Branch of Organ Transplant Physicians of Chinese Medical Doctor Association invited experts in the field to discuss clinical issues. Combining published guidelines,consensus statements,and research advancements,they formulated the "Technical guidelines for minimally invasive surgery in liver transplant recipients(2025)", aiming to provide reasonable guidance and references for clinical practitioners in the field of liver transplantation.
Humans
;
Liver Transplantation/methods*
;
Minimally Invasive Surgical Procedures/methods*
;
Laparoscopy
;
Robotic Surgical Procedures
;
Practice Guidelines as Topic
10.Qualitative systematic evaluation of influencing factors for implementation of clinical practice guidelines in China based on theoretical domains framework.
Xu-Dong ZHANG ; Ju-Wen ZHANG ; Fan-Ya YU ; Jun-Hong YU ; Wei CHEN
China Journal of Chinese Materia Medica 2025;50(13):3803-3814
The effective implementation of clinical practice guideline(CPG), as a crucial vehicle of evidence-based medicine, plays a vital role in improving healthcare quality and patient safety. Currently, there remains a significant gap between the actual implementation outcomes of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) guidelines and their intended objectives, which necessitates a systematic investigation into their influencing factors to optimize implementation strategies. This study aims to comprehensively identify the factors influencing CPG implementation in China, adapt the theoretical domains framework(TDF) to the local context, and integrate TCM-specific characteristics to provide recommendations for optimizing the development and implementation processes of TCM guidelines. Systematic search was conducted across multiple databases, including CNKI, Wanfang, VIP, SinoMed, PubMed, and EMbase, covering the period from each database's inception to March 2024. Qualitative and mixed-methods studies were included to examine factors affecting the implementation of clinical practice guidelines. The methodological quality of the included studies was assessed using the critical appraisal skills programme(CASP) tool. RESULTS:: were synthesized through framework analysis and thematic synthesis, and expert consensus was achieved via a structured consensus meeting. A total of 16 studies involving 2 388 participants were included with overall good methodological quality. Based on the TDF, 43 influencing factors across 14 domains were identified. The most critical factors included the quality of guideline evidence, training and academic conferences organized by hospitals and academic institutions to promote guideline adoption among medical staff, support from professional leaders for guideline implementation, the applicability and clarity of guideline recommendations, and material resources(supplies, funding, and facilities) required for implementation. Additionally, influencing factors of TCM guideline implementation were identified, including the distinctive advantages of TCM therapies, the applicability of syndrome differentiation, and the feasibility of TCM treatments. Based on these findings, it is recommended that TCM guideline development should incorporate these unique influencing factors to formulate high-quality, clear, and actionable recommendations. Following guideline publication, healthcare and academic institutions should strengthen training and dissemination efforts and ensure the availability of necessary implementation resources to facilitate the successful adoption of guidelines in clinical practice.
China
;
Humans
;
Practice Guidelines as Topic
;
Medicine, Chinese Traditional/standards*
;
Evidence-Based Medicine

Result Analysis
Print
Save
E-mail