Overview of the Clinical Practice Guidelines Mission of the Saudi Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society (SPIDS)

From its early years following its establishment, the Saudi Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society (SPIDS) placed a significant emphasis on the development of Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPGs).[1] Recognizing the vital role of standardized, evidence-based healthcare in improving patient outcomes, the society made it a priority to develop national guidance documents tailored to the local context in the Kingdom. By the year 2021, SPIDS had already contributed more than six CPGs that addressed different key areas in pediatric infectious diseases, examples of which were brucellosis, latent tuberculosis, pneumonia, and UTI, and other priority CPGs.[2] In 2022, SPIDS took a major step forward in its commitment to CPGs by shifting gears toward the development of more structured and methodologically sound CPGs. For the first time in SPIDS’ history, SPIDS established a formal collaboration with the well-known expert CPG methodologists’ team at King Saud University Medical City (KSUMC). Marking a new era in CPG development and adaptation for SPIDS.[3,4] One of the most significant outcomes of this collaboration was the development of a first-of-its-kind “evidence-based practice guidelines for establishing hospital-based antimicrobial stewardship program in Saudi Arabia.” This landmark guideline was the product of joint efforts of the SPIDS expert clinicians and the KSUMC CPG methodologists. This CPG marks the first comprehensive antimicrobial stewardship CPG tailored to both national and regional contexts. It provides clear, evidence-based recommendations for the rational use of antimicrobials in pediatric care and other relevant patient populations.[5] After months of dedicated, methodologically rigorous work, this CPG has now been finalized and is set to be published as a comprehensive CPG full document and as a journal article. This achievement marks a major milestone, not only for SPIDS but for the broader healthcare community in the region.[5] Following these major achievements, and in recognition of the growing work and demand from this side, SPIDS took a further strategic step by establishing a dedicated guidelines committee within the SPIDS committees. This specialized committee consists of a group of members tasked exclusively with overseeing guideline-related activities from identifying the key priority health topics in pediatric infectious diseases to the development and dissemination of high-quality evidence-based CPGs. This committee is currently leading the development of new guidelines for group A streptococcus pharyngitis, hepatitis B, and basidiobolomycosis, which is a rare but increasingly recognized fungal infection in children in Saudi Arabia. This structure reflects SPIDS’ long-term vision of embedding guideline development as a core and sustainable function within the society’s mission. As a further reflection of the SPIDS’ deep commitment to advancing CPG, the theme of the SPIDS week 2024, which is the annual Scientific conference of the SPIDS, was dedicated entirely to CPGs in pediatric infectious diseases. This special focus provided a platform to showcase many of the most recent and updated CPGs in the field.[2,6] The event also served as an opportunity to recognize the invaluable efforts of the contributors in this domain. It was no surprise, then, that SPID’s annual award was granted to distinguished experts and leading contributors in the field of CPGs for pediatric infectious diseases in the kingdom. Furthermore, SPIDS awarded 30 of the SPIDS 2024 week contributors and winners with sponsored enrolment in the certified guideline panel member course of the International Guideline Training and Certification Program (INGUIDE), a comprehensive, evidence-based training and certification program focused on guideline development and implementation, developed by the Guidelines International Network and McMaster University, acknowledging their dedication and encouraging further evidence-based guideline development capacity building across the region.[6,7] The recent initiative of the Saudi Commission for Health Specialties (SCFHS) of appointing the non-profit health societies to serve as a nationally recognized lead in the development of the CPG came at exactly the right moment to support the SPIDS mission and its ongoing efforts toward CPGs. This national movement provided SPIDS with an ideal opportunity to flourish and achieve its goal.[8] In response, SPIDS has immediately established the “Pediatric Infectious Diseases Guidelines Advisory Board.” In addition to their strong clinical expertise, this group will also develop the administrative and strategic capabilities essential for such leadership roles. Members of this board will undergo a rigorous training program and structured career development courses, equipping them to lead the way as national leaders and trusted guideline developers. This marks the beginning of their journey to becoming the future members of the so-called “house of experience and knowledge” as originally envisioned by the SCFHS.[8] Author Contributions (1) Dr. Rana Hassan Almaghrabi: Conceptualization, writing − original draft, writing − review and editing, supervision, project administration. (2) Dr. Fatimah Abullah Aldubisi: Writing − review and editing, supervision, project administration. (3) Dr. Ghada A. Bawazeer: Writing − review and editing, supervision. (4) Dr. Yasser Sami Amer: Conceptualization, writing − original draft, writing − review and editing, supervision. (5) Dr. Sameera Mohmmed Aljehani: Writing − review and editing, supervision. (6) Prof. Lubna A. Al-Ansary: Writing − review and editing, supervision.