How do I prepare a GRADE evidence profile for a guideline panel meeting?

Prepare a GRADE evidence profile by rating certainty for each critical outcome, footnoting every judgement to its supporting studies, and logging unresolved disagreements for the panel. GRADE rates certainty at the outcome level using explicit criteria, so the profile should be organized outcome by outcome rather than study by study.

1. Fix the list of critical outcomes before rating. The panel's scope determines which outcomes enter the profile; outcomes judged critical get a full certainty rating, and the rest are set aside or noted. Result: a bounded set of rows that matches the questions the panel will vote on.
2. For each outcome, record the effect estimate and the studies contributing to it. Cochrane GRADE resources describe Summary of Findings tables as the standard vehicle for pairing outcomes with effect sizes and certainty. Result: every row shows the evidence behind the number.
3. Rate certainty for each outcome against the GRADE criteria and write a footnote for each downgrade or upgrade. The GRADE Working Group describes the approach as transparent rating with explicit criteria and outcome-level judgements. Result: a reader can see which criterion drove each rating.
4. Tie each footnote to the specific studies it rests on, using study identifiers the panel can trace. Result: a panel member can move from a rating back to the underlying report without guesswork.
5. Build a summary of judgements that lists each outcome, its certainty rating, and the direction of effect in one view. Result: the panel can scan the profile before discussion.
6. Keep a disagreement log recording each unresolved rating question, the positions taken, and the evidence cited on each side. Result: contested judgements reach the meeting as agenda items with their evidence attached.

GRADEpro workflows support assembling these tables and ratings; use the output to identify rows that still need a footnote or a resolved rating before circulation. Circulate the profile and disagreement log ahead of the meeting so panel time goes to the contested rows.