ULCERATIVE-COLITIS PRACTICE GUIDELINES IN ADULTS

Guidelines for clinical practice are intended to indicate preferred ap proaches to medical problems as established by scientifically valid re search, Double-blind placebo controlled studies are preferable, but co mpassionate use reports and expert review articles are utilized in a t horough review of the literature conducted through Medline with the Na tional Library of Medicine, When only data that will not withstand obj ective scrutiny are available, a recommendation is identified as a con sensus of experts. Guidelines are applicable to all physicians who add ress the subject without regard to specialty training or interests and are intended to indicate the preferable but not necessarily the only acceptable approach to a specific problem. Guidelines are intended to be flexible and must be distinguished from standards of care, which ar e inflexible and rarely violated. Given the wide range of specifics in any health care problem, tile physician must always choose the course best suited to the individual patient and the variables in existence at the moment of decision. Guidelines are developed under the auspices of the American College of Gastroenterology and its Practice Paramete rs Committee and approved by the Board of Trustees. Each has been inte nsely reviewed and revised the Committee, other experts in the field, physicians who will use them, and specialists in the science of decisi on of analysis. The recommendations of each guideline are therefore co nsidered valid at the time of their production based on the data avail able. New developments in medical research and practice pertinent to e ach guideline will be reviewed at a time established and indicated at publication to assure continued validity.