2024 ESC Guidelines for the management of atrial fibrillation developed in collaboration with the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery (EACTS), engl.

Year of publication: 2024

Editing medical society(ies):
European Society of Cardiology (ESC)

Other medical societies involved: 2

ESC Guidelines


List of evaluated guidelines

Evaluation by Leitlinienwatch

12.11.24


PTs.

Criterion
2

Transparency

As in all current ESC guidelines, the authors, reviewers and representatives of the national professional societies report on the conflicts of interest (COI) of the years 2021-2023 in the appendix to the guideline (ESC Declaration of Interests Report 2024 ESC Guidelines for the management of atrial fibrillation, https://www.escardio.org/static-file/Escardio/Guidelines/DOI/2024/DOI-summary-2024-ESC-Guidelines-AFIB.pdf). There was no review of the reported COI by coordinators or an external committee.
0

Composition of the Guideline Working Group

23 of 26 (89%) authors of the Guidelines Commission report conflicts of interest on an average of 3.9±3.2 (0-13) (see https://www.escardio.org/static-file/Escardio/Guidelines/DOI/2024/DOI-summary-2024-ESC-Guidelines-AFIB.pdf).
0

Independence of the Coordinators/Chairs/Lead AuthorsUnabhängigkeit der Vorsitzenden/federführenden Autoren

Both lead authors indicate COI with 5 and 9 pharmaceutical and medical device companies, respectively. One of the two coordinators has COI with 6 medical device companies.
0

Abstention from Voting

The publication describes the current recommendations of the ESC regarding voting behaviour in case of COI. In it, the members of the commission are asked not to vote on COI-related issues. However, it is not described to what extent this request was granted. According to the ESC's notification to LLW, voting results will not be published as a matter of principle.
0

External Review of the Guideline
1

Bonus Points

Bonus point for internal review process by reviewers who have submitted a declaration of interest. However, 74% of the reviewers state COI up to an average of 2.8±2.9 (0-14).

Explanations to the evaluation criteria

Overall score

3

Good! (11-18)

Warning! (6-10)

Needs reform! (0-5)

Comment

After only 3 years, the ESC publishes a new guideline for the treatment of atrial fibrillation. This guideline is also written by authors who, with a few exceptions, have significant conflicts of interest according to unverified self-statements. The non-reported, non-transparent voting behaviour of the commission members is also to be criticised. In the future (https://www.escardio.org/static-file/Escardio/Web/Documents/ESC-Declaration-and-Management-of-COI-Policy.pdf), the ESC plans to categorize COI into "moderate" - with a total sum of personal donation from the medical industry up to 10,000 euros/year - and "significant" - with a total amount of personal donation from the medical industry over 10,000 euros/year. The problem of indirect donations to the involved medical societies and institutions is not taken into account. In addition, a possible exclusion of activities within committees is still an optional provision of the "Senior Compliance Council" of the ESC. Overall, there is still a considerable need for reform in the preparation of medical guidelines by the ESC.

Note: This evaluation was conducted with due care on the basis of the published guideline. Should you still discover an error, please contact us at info@leitlinienwatch.de.