CONSENSUS CONFERENCES IN CRITICAL CARE MEDICINE - METHODOLOGIES AND IMPACT

Consensus conferences for the purposes of producing practice guideline s are occurring with increasing frequency both nationally and internat ionally. The international collaboration of national sciences in these efforts could have a dramatic impact on international standards of ca re. Too Little emphasis is given to conference evaluations in terms of validity of methods, quality of recommendations, and influence on cli nical practice and patient outcome. This article provides an overview of consensus methods used to produce guidelines in critical care. It a lso discusses the strengths and weaknesses of these methods, and how t hese may influence consensus guidelines. Finally, a brief overview of theoretically sound methods that can serve as benchmarks to evaluate c urrent methods, and the bases for the development of improved methods is provided.