During the spring of 2004, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) began planning for the development of clinical practice guidelines for von Willebrand disease (VWD) in response to the Fiscal Year 2004 appropriations conference committee report (House Report 108-401) recommendation. In that report, the conferees urged NHLBI to develop a set of treatment guidelines for VWD and to work with medical associations and experts in the field when developing such guidelines.
In consultation with the American Society of Hematology (ASH), the Institute convened an Expert Panel on VWD, chaired by Dr. William Nichols of the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN. The Expert Panel members were selected to provide expertise in basic sciences, clinical and laboratory diagnosis, evidence-based medicine, and the clinical management of VWD, including specialists in hematology as well as in family medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, internal medicine, and laboratory sciences. The Expert Panel comprised one basic scientist and nine physicians—including one family physician, one obstetrician and gynecologist, and seven hematologists with expertise in VWD (two were pediatric hematologists). Ad hoc members of the Panel represented the Division of Blood Diseases and Resources of the NHLBI. The Panel was coordinated by the Division for the Application of Research Discoveries (DARD), formerly the Office of Prevention, Education, and Control of the NHLBI. Panel members disclosed, verbally and in writing, any financial conflicts.
Charge to the Panel
Dr. Barbara Alving, then Acting Director of the NHLBI, gave the charge to the Expert Panel to examine the current science in the area of VWD and to come to consensus regarding clinical recommendations for diagnosis, treatment, and management of this common inherited bleeding disorder. The Panel was also charged to base each recommendation on the current science and to indicate the strength of the relevant literature for each recommendation.
Panel Assignments
After the Expert Panel finalized a basic outline for the guidelines, members were assigned to the three sections: (1) Introduction and Background, (2) Diagnosis and Evaluation, and (3) Management of VWD. Three members were assigned lead responsibility for a particular section. The section groups were responsible for developing detailed outlines for the sections, reviewing the pertinent literature, writing the sections, and drafting recommendations with the supporting evidence for the full Panel to review.
Clinical Recommendations—Grading and Levels of Evidence
Recommendations made in this document are based on the levels of evidence described in the "Rating Scheme for the Evidence" field, with a priority grading system of A, B, or C. Grade A is reserved for recommendations based on evidence levels Ia and Ib. Grade B is given for recommendations having evidence levels of IIa, IIb, and III; and Grade C is for recommendations based on evidence level IV. None of the recommendations merited a Grade of A. Evidence tables are provided at the end of the original guideline document for those recommendations that are graded as B and have two or more references.