• Marie E Faughnan, Johannes J Mager, Steven W Hetts, Valerie A Palda, Kelly Lang-Robertson, Elisabetta Buscarini, Erik Deslandres, Raj S Kasthuri, Andrea Lausman, David Poetker, Felix Ratjen, Mark S Chesnutt, Marianne Clancy, Kevin J Whitehead, Hanny Al-Samkari, Murali Chakinala, Miles Conrad, Daniel Cortes, Claudia Crocione, Jama Darling, Els de Gussem, Carol Derksen, Sophie Dupuis-Girod, Patrick Foy, Urban Geisthoff, James R Gossage, Adrienne Hammill, Ketil Heimdal, Katharine Henderson, Vivek N Iyer, Anette D Kjeldsen, Masaki Komiyama, Kevin Korenblatt, Jamie McDonald, Jack McMahon, Justin McWilliams, Mary E Meek, Meir Mei-Zahav, Scott Olitsky, Sara Palmer, Rose Pantalone, Jay F Piccirillo, Beth Plahn, Mary E M Porteous, Marco C Post, Ivan Radovanovic, Paul J Rochon, Josanna Rodriguez-Lopez, Carlo Sabba, Marcelo Serra, Claire Shovlin, Dennis Sprecher, Andrew J White, Ingrid Winship, and Roberto Zarrabeitia.
• St. Michael's Hospital, Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, and University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada (M.E.F.).
• Ann. Intern. Med. 2020 Dec 15; 173 (12): 989-1001.

DescriptionHereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT) is an autosomal dominant disease with an estimated prevalence of 1 in 5000 that is characterized by the presence of vascular malformations (VMs). These result in chronic bleeding, acute hemorrhage, and complications from shunting through VMs. The goal of the Second International HHT Guidelines process was to develop evidence-based consensus guidelines for the management and prevention of HHT-related symptoms and complications.MethodsThe guidelines were developed using the AGREE II (Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation II) framework and GRADE (Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation) methodology. The guidelines expert panel included expert physicians (clinical and genetic) in HHT from 15 countries, guidelines methodologists, health care workers, health care administrators, patient advocacy representatives, and persons with HHT. During the preconference process, the expert panel generated clinically relevant questions in 6 priority topic areas. A systematic literature search was done in June 2019, and articles meeting a priori criteria were included to generate evidence tables, which were used as the basis for recommendation development. The expert panel subsequently convened during a guidelines conference to conduct a structured consensus process, during which recommendations reaching at least 80% consensus were discussed and approved.RecommendationsThe expert panel generated and approved 6 new recommendations for each of the following 6 priority topic areas: epistaxis, gastrointestinal bleeding, anemia and iron deficiency, liver VMs, pediatric care, and pregnancy and delivery (36 total). The recommendations highlight new evidence in existing topics from the first International HHT Guidelines and provide guidance in 3 new areas: anemia, pediatrics, and pregnancy and delivery. These recommendations should facilitate implementation of key components of HHT care into clinical practice.

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