Construction and use of wound care guidelines: an overview.

Patients should receive care based on the best available scientific knowledge. Clinical wound care guidelines have been created using many methodologies, but many remain consensus-based. A consensus-based approach is no longer considered adequate or appropriate. The best guidelines are developed from a systematic examination and appraisal of good evidence from well-conducted trials. The development process must be transparent, utilize an accepted evidence rating system, be supported by appropriate clinical expertise, and lead to unambiguous recommendations. Prospective validation studies are important as part of the development process, especially for areas of care with limited literature- based evidence. Wound care will become a process of applying the best data available to the clinical situation. The ultimate use of guidelines will be the development of evidence-based, validated clinical tools that can be integrated with existing patient data and available to the wound care professional at the consultation.