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WORLD GASTROENTEROLOGY NEWS APRIL 2018
Editorial | Expert Point of View | WCOG at ACG 2017 | WDHD News | WGO & WGOF News | WGO Global Guidelines | Calendar of Events
a hierarchical set of diagnostic or
therapeutic techniques for the same
disease, ranked according to the
resources available. Each guideline
review team includes non-Western
experts with direct knowledge of
conditions in various regions around
the world to ensure the applicability
of the procedures under a variety of
circumstances.
Prof. Lindberg pointed out that 18
of the 24 WGO Guidelines feature
cascades. Cascade-based WGO
guidelines offer different options for
diagnosis and treatment depending on
the available resources. As examples,
in his presentation he highlighted
cascades in the GERD guidelines for
management options and those in the
Esophageal Dysphagia guidelines for
diagnostic options.
On the topic of the global applicability
of “gold standard” guidelines,
Prof. Lindberg posed this question:
“Who can afford to implement ‘gold
standard’ guidelines?”
As an answer he quoted Professor
Guido Tytgat, former WGO president
(2002–2005) and founder of the
WGO Guidelines, who had stated
“Many ‘gold standard’ or Western
guidelines are incompatible and thus
useless in many, if not most, clinical
settings around the world! We have
to get to a global system of universal
guidelines, which, of course, would
require a layered system with options
for situations that do not allow of call
for the most expensive or technically
advanced solutions.”