Disclaimer
is Guideline attempts to define principles of practice that should produce high-quality patient
care. It is applicable to specialists, primary care, and providers at all levels. is Guideline
should not be considered exclusive of other methods of care reasonably directed at obtaining the
same results. e ultimate judgment concerning the propriety of any course of conduct must be
made by the clinician aer consideration of each individual patient situation.
Neither IGC, the medical associations, nor the authors endorse any product or service associated
with the distributor of this clinical reference tool.
Abbreviations
CT, computerized tomography; FNA, fine needle aspiration; HNSCC, squamous cell
carcinoma; MRI, magnetic resonance imaging
Source
Pynnonen, MA, Gillespie, MB, Rosenfeld RM, et al. Clinical Practice Guideline:
Evaluation of the Neck Mass in Adult. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2017; 157
(2 Suppl):S1-S30.
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AAOHNSNEC1783a
Evidence Quality and Recommendation Grades
a
Evidence Quality for: Recommendation
Treatment and Harm Diagnosis Strength
A High-quality
randomized clinial
trials (RCTs)
Systematic review of
consistent cross-sectional
studies
S Strong
recommendation
B Consistent RCTs Consistent individual
cross-sectional studies
R Recommendation
C Observational studies Nonconsecutive studies,
case-control studies, or
other studies of poor
quality
O Option
D Case reports, consensus opinions
X Exceptional situations with clear benefit
a
See full text guidelines for details.
