Introduction: The occurrence of perineal fistula is a significant evesnt in the evolution of Crohn's disease. Approximately 21% to 23% of patients develop perineal fistula at least once in their lifetime, approximately 30% of patients have cases of recurrence, and the refractory and recurrent perineal lesions of Crohn's disease impose a great economic burden on patients. The main purpose of this review was to investigate the quality of guidelines for perineal fistula in Crohn's disease.
Area covered: Relevant websites and databases were systematically searched to identify and select clinical guidelines related to perineal fistulas in Crohn's disease. Four independent reviewers assessed the eligible guidelines using the Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation II (AGREE II) and used intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) to measure the agreement among the guideline reviewers.
Conclusion: There is much room for improvement in the quality of guidelines for the management of perineal fistulas in Crohn's disease. The recommendations and evidence for guidelines for the management of perineal fistulas in Crohn's disease are quite heterogeneous, and guideline-developers would be well advised to address the above issues during future guideline development.
Keywords: Crohn’s disease; guidelines; medical treatment; perineal fistulas; surgical treatment.