Report of guidelines for diagnosis and treatment of common internal diseases in Chinese medicine: Headache

Headache is one of the most common clinical complaints and is listed as one of the top 10 disability disorders by the World Health Organization (WHO). For standardizing the diagnosis and treatment of headache and improve the level of clinical diagnosis and treatment of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), on 30 January 2019, China Association of Chinese Medicine officially issued the Guidelines for Diagnosis and Treatment of Common Internal Diseases in Chinese Medicine-Headache (T/CACM 1271-2019). The Guidelines were developed following the method process recommended by Technical Requirements for the Revision of TCM Clinical Diagnosis and Treatment Guidelines (pilot edition), and also referring to WHO Handbook for Guideline Development. The Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) framework was also followed. The protocol was formulated by the guideline project team, which comprised of specialists of TCM encephalopathy, guideline methodologist, patient representative, etc. Question regarding the treatment of headaches in TCM were formulated and 18 most important ones were chosen as PICOs (population, intervention, comparison, outcomes). Comprehensive search and review of the literature were performed and the quality of the evidence was assessed and rated based on certain criteria. Twenty-five recommendations were put forward in the Guidelines through three rounds of expert consensus based on their quality of evidence, in addition to the balance of pros and cons of these interventions, patient preferences and values, and economic factors. It is the first and the only clinical practice guide for Chinese medicine accepted by National Guidelines Clearinghouse in the world.