Strength of recommendations
| A | B | C | |
| (the group feels this element of care should be strongly recommended) | (a recommendation rated moderately important by the group) | (rated as relatively unimportant by the group, although may be considered in some cases) | |
| I | AI | BI | CI |
| (well designed RCTs, meta-analyses, or systematic reviews) | (strong recommendation based on strong evidence) | (strong evidence but has impact on quality of care) | (recommendations in this category are unlikely) |
| II | AII | BII | CII |
| (well designed cohort or case controlled studies) | (moderate evidence, but the group feels the issue is very important) | (moderate evidence, but moderately important) | (moderate evidence, but the group feels the issue is not particularly important) |
| III | AIII | BIII | CIII |
| (uncontrolled studies) | (a rare grading, with no good experimental evidence, but the group feel it is very important, for example, splenectomy recommended for ruptured spleen) | (limited level of evidence, but the group feels moderately strongly) | (limited level of evidence, but might be considered in some cases) |