Guideline Development

2019 Call for CCS Guideline and Position Statement Topics

The 2019 Call for Guideline and Position Statement Topics is now closed. Thank you to all the CCS members who took the time to submit a topic. CCS only has capacity to develop a limited number of statements each year. As such, the CCS Guidelines Committee reviews each submission carefully to assess the need, relevance to CCS membership and expertise, and suitability to the CCS guideline or position statement format. The final decision on topics selected for development will be decided by CCS Council and announced in mid-June.

CCS Guideline Development Process

The CCS is committed to developing statements that high quality and transparent. In addition to the CCS specific procedures and policies, CCS follows the AGREE II Instrument as an overarching methodology to guide development. In addition, the CCS has adopted the GRADE Scale for rating the strength of recommendations and the quality of evidence. The following documents describe for co-chairs, panel members, members and CCS staff the policies and procedures for development of guidelines and position statements including special consideration of the “closed-loop” development programs for Heart failure and Atrial Fibrillation:

The CCS Guideline Development Policies and Procedures document addresses all policies and procedures related to the CCS development process including topic selection, panel selection, evidence review, defining and achieving consensus, statement format, approval process, CCC presentation and CJC publication for both guidelines and position statements.
To ensure high quality and transparency, the CCS strongly suggests all guideline and position statement developers use the international AGREE II Instrument as a tool for guiding development and assessing the quality and methodological transparency of guidelines. For a copy of the AGREE II Instrument and background information on AGREE II, please visit www.agreetrust.org
To ensure high quality and transparency, the CCS has adopted the GRADE Scale for rating the strength of recommendations and the quality of evidence. As of January 2010, the CCS uses the GRADE system of evidence assessment for all guidelines and position statements. In June 2015, CCS developed a CCS Grade framework to guide co-chairs and writing panels through the systematic review of evidence and the application of GRADE when developing recommendations. It is meant to be used as a framework to a more rigorous application of GRADE and is presented in five high level steps with examples for documentation that can be adapted to suit the specific needs of the writing panel.

For more information on GRADE, please refer to the BMJ GRADE primer articles below:

Part 1 - GRADE: an emerging consensus on rating quality of evidence and strength of recommendations

Part 2 - GRADE: what is "quality of evidence" and why is it important to clinicians?

Part 3 - GRADE: going from evidence to recommendations

Part 4 - GRADE: grading quality of evidence and strength of recommendations for diagnostic tests and strategies

Part 5 - GRADE: Incorporating considerations of resources use into grading recommendations

Part 6 - Use of GRADE grid to reach decisions on clinical practice guidelines when consensus is elusive

Guidelines and Position Statements Currently Under Development

Guidelines and Position Statements Currently Under Development	Co-Chairs	Expected Completion
CCS/CTS Position Statement on Pulmonary Hypertension	L. Mielniczuk D. Langleben S. Mehta	Early 2019
CCS Position Statement for Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation	J. Webb A. Asgar M. Ouzounian	Early 2019
CCS Position Statement on the Investigation and Management of Orthostatic Hypotension and Postural Tachycardia Syndrome	S.R. Raj J. Guzman	October 2019
CCS/CSCS/CAIC/CanCare Position Statement on a Heart Team-based Approach to Percutaneous Mechanical Cardiac Support Devices in Cardiogenic Shock or High Risk Cardiac Interventions	H. Ly D. Freed	October 2019
CCS/CACHnet Guidelines for the Management of Adults with Congenital Heart Disease	A. Marielli C. Silversides	October 2019
CCS/CHRS Position Statement on the Management of Ventricular Tachycardia in Structural Heart Disease	M. Deyell J. Sapp	October 2019
CCS Guidelines for the Management of Dyslipidemia for the Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease in the Adult	G. Pearson G. Thanassoulis	October 2019
CCS/CCTN Position Statement on Heart Transplant Patient Eligibility, Selection, and Post-Transplant Care	B. Clarke S. Chih	October 2019
CCS Position Statement on Recent International Guidelines on the Assessment and Management of Syncope	R. Sandhuu B. Sheldon	October 2019
CCS/CanSCMR Update on Safety for Cardiovascular Patients Undergoing Magnetic Resonance Imaging	I. Paterson J. White	October 2019
CCS/CHFS Position Statement on the Evaluation and Management of Patients with Cardiac Amyloidosis	M. Davis N. Fine	October 2019
CCS/CSE Position Statement on Indications and Appropriate Use of Echocardiography in Canada	H. Leong-Poi L. Rudski	October 2020
CCS/CanCare/CNCS Position Statement on Neurologic Prognostication in the Post Cardiac Arrest Patient	C. Fordyce A. Kramer	October 2020