Guidelines and Expert Consensus Documents summarize and evaluate all currently available evidence on a particular issue with the aim of assisting physicians in selecting the best management strategies for a typical patient, suffering from a given condition, taking into account the impact on outcome, as well as the risk/benefit ratio of particular diagnostic or therapeutic means. Guidelines are no substitutes for textbooks. The legal implications of medical guidelines have been discussed previously.

A great number of Guidelines and Expert Consensus Documents have been issued in recent years by the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) as well as by other societies and organizations. Because of the impact on clinical practice, quality criteria for the development of guidelines have been established in order to make all decisions transparent to the user. The recommendations for formulating and issuing ESC Guidelines and Expert Consensus Documents can be found on the ESC website (http://www.escardio.org/knowledge/guidelines/rules).

In brief, experts in the field are selected and undertake a comprehensive review of the published evidence for management and/or prevention of a given condition. Unpublished clinical trial results have not been taken into account. A critical evaluation of diagnostic and therapeutic procedures is performed including assessment of the risk/benefit ratio. Estimates of expected health outcomes for larger societies are included, where data exist. The level of evidence and the strength of recommendation of particular treatment options are weighed and graded according to predefined scales, as outlined in Tables 1 and 2 .

The experts of the writing panels have provided disclosure statements of all relationships they may have which might be perceived as real or potential sources of conflicts of interest. These disclosure forms are kept on file at the European Heart House, headquarters of the ESC. Any changes in conflict of interest that arise during the writing period …

Management of acute myocardial infarction in patients presenting with persistent ST-segment elevation: the Task Force on the Management of ST-Segment Elevation Acute Myocardial Infarction of the European Society of Cardiology.

https://nrr.org/wp-content/uploads/0000/10/02_ERC_Guidelines_2005_Section2.pdf

European Resuscitation Council Guidelines for Resuscitation 2010 Section 2. Adult basic life support and use of automated external defibrillators.

https://anestesiar.org/WP/uploads/2011/01/7-neonatos-ERC-2010.pdf

European Resuscitation Council Guidelines for Resuscitation 2010 Section 1. Executive summary.

Part 8 : Advanced life support : 2010 International Consensus on Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Emergency Cardiovascular Care Science With Treatment Recommendations

https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.110.971051

Part 8: Advanced Life Support: 2010 International Consensus on Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Emergency Cardiovascular Care Science With Treatment Recommendations

### Philosophy of the guideline

### Assessing patients



Figure 1 Chart 1: Oxygen prescription for acutely hypoxaemic patients in hospital. ABG, arterial blood gas; COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; Fio2, fraction of inspired oxygen; ICU, intensive care unit; NIV, non-invasive ventilation; Pco2, carbon dioxide tension; Spo2, arterial oxygen saturation measured by pulse oximetry.

View this table:

Table 1 Critical illnesses requiring high levels of supplemental oxygen (see section 8.10)

### Oxygen prescription

View this table:

Table 2 Serious illnesses requiring moderate levels of supplemental oxygen if the patient is hypoxaemic (section 8.11)

View this table:

Table 3 COPD and other conditions requiring controlled or low-dose oxygen therapy (section 8.12)

### Oxygen administration



Figure 2 Chart 2: Flow chart for oxygen administration on general wards in hospitals. ABG, arterial blood gas; EPR, electronic patient record; EWS, Early Warning Score; Spo2, arterial oxygen saturation measured by pulse oximetry.

### Monitoring and maintenance of target saturation

https://thorax.bmj.com/content/thoraxjnl/63/Suppl_6/vi1.full.pdf

BTS guideline for emergency oxygen use in adult patients

/pdf/european-resuscitation-council-erc-guidelines-for-1vuo3ljag0.pdf

Peter Fenici

Papers

European Resuscitation Council (ERC) Guidelines for Resuscitation 2005