Objective To evaluate the evidence and recommendations of the Chinese guidelines on
pharmacotherapy for ischemic stroke in the recent five years.
Methods The domestic computer retrieval platforms (China biomedical literature database, CNKI,
WanFang Data, etc) and foreign platforms (Pubmed, NGC, GIN, etc) were retrieved. The retrieval
time limit ranged from January 2012 to May 2017. Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and
Evaluation II (AGREE II) was used to assess the quality of the guidelines.
Results A total of 19 guidelines were finally included. The average scoring rates of the 19 guidelines
in the 6 field of AGREE II, including the scope and purpose, participants, rigor of the formulation,
clarity of expression, applicability, and independence of the editors were 60%, 19%, 26%, 55%, 23%,
and 2%, respectively. At present, the effective time window of intravenous thrombolytic drugs was
still in the super early period (<4.5 h), and the benefit of the increase of thrombolytic indications
was still unclear. For mild stroke, the dual antiplatelet therapy was recommended by all different
guidelines. The timing of anticoagulation was still the most controversial part among all guidelines.
The control of blood pressure of ischemic stroke should follow the principle of individuation firstly.The efficacy of neuroprotectant was still in need of a lot of clinical trials.
Conclusion The guidelines in this field can reflect the difficult and hot issues in clinical practice
and provide better guidance for the clinical practice of pharmacotherapy for stroke. However, the
methodological quality about the Chinese guidelines on pharmacotherapy for ischemic stroke was
low or moderate in general. The methodological quality of guidelines should be further improved.
