Developing clinical practice guidelines for physiotherapists working with people with inherited bleeding disorders

Abstract

Several bleeding disorders are characterized by haemorrhage into joints and muscles. These conditions are best managed by interdisciplinary teams that include physiotherapists. In 1997, physiotherapists from haemophilia treatment centres in Canada formed the Canadian Physiotherapists in Hemophilia Care (CPHC). The guiding principles of the CPHC reflect a commitment to evidence-based practice, education and collaboration. To describe the process used by CPHC to develop evidence-based clinical practice guidelines to inform best practice, guide decision-making and help educate physiotherapists, students, and other team members about the physiotherapy management of people with bleeding disorders. We followed the procedures outlined in the American Physical Therapy Association's Clinical Practice Guideline Process Manual (2018). Namely, we selected a working group, determined the scope of the guidelines, performed a literature search, selected and appraised the evidence, drafted the guidelines as practice statements, assigned a strength of recommendation to each practice statement and disseminated the guidelines. Thirty-nine practice statements were developed in nine practice areas. Strength of evidence was strong for two statements, moderate for one and weak for three. The remainder were graded as theoretical or best practice. To our knowledge, these are the first evidence-based clinical practice guidelines that cover all aspects of physiotherapy management of people with bleeding disorders. Some areas, such as exercise and manual therapy, have been well investigated. However, the overall low levels of evidence and low strengths of recommendations highlight the need for more rigorous research with this population.