Table 6 AGREE-II domains, scores, areas for improvement, and responses/actions taken

1. Scope and Purpose

18/21

• Include specific outcomes of interest and setting to the clinical question

• Additional details about the target population would have increased the rating (e.g., specific age ranges, specifying stage and/or severity of the disease)

• These details were added

• These details cannot be provided given the limited research base

2. Stakeholder Involvement

19/21

None

3. Rigour of Development

47/56

• Provide further details on the search for evidence (e.g., time periods searched, outcomes of interest, etc.)

• Eligibility criteria for studies not explicitly stated/listed

• Provide an explicit linking/identification of the key evidence underpinning the consensus statement

• Additional details have been added

• An explicit statement has been added

• Space restrictions preclude statement-by-statement links to the evidence; however it’s now noted that the evidence in Tables 3 and 4 has been used to guide the consensus statement

4. Clarity of Presentation

18/21

• The inclusion of a section or an appendix with the final consensus statement would make the statement more easily identifiable in the report

• A table/box was added to highlight the final statement

5. Applicability

21/28

• No explicit comments were included in the report concerning potential resource implications of applying the recommendations, nor was a formal assessment undertaken/reported

• Notes from the panel’s discussion of resource implications have been added

6. Editorial Independence

8/14

• An explicit statement regarding the funder was not included, nor was an explicit statement to indicate the views or interests of the funding body did not influence the final consensus statement

• An explicit statement has been added