Standards, Practice Guidelines, and Statements Developed and/or Endorsed by IDSA
About Practice Guidelines
Practice guidelines are systematically developed statements to assist practitioners and patients in making decisions about appropriate health care for specific clinical circumstances. [Institute of Medicine Committee to Advise the Public Health Service on Clinical Practice Guidelines, 1990] Attributes of good guidelines include validity, reliability, reproducibility, clinical applicability, clinical flexibility, clarity, multidisciplinary process, review of evidence, and documentation. [Institute of Medicine Committee to Advise the Public Health Service on Clinical Practice Guidelines, 1990]
It is important to realize that guidelines cannot always account for individual variation among patients. They are not intended to supplant physician judgment with respect to particular patients or special clinical situations. IDSA considers adherence to the guidelines listed below to be voluntary, with the ultimate determination regarding their application to be made by the physician in the light of each patient’s individual circumstances.
IDSA Policy on its Clinical Practice Guidelines in Development
*Standards, Practice Guidelines Summary Table*
Clinical Practice Guidelines by Category
Antimicrobial Agent Use
Infections by Organ System
Infections by Organism
Other Guidelines
- Fever and Infections
- Other