Our guidelines

This is a list of current guidelines, guidelines under development and archived guidelines that have been or are being developed or updated by the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network.

Number	Title	Topic	Published
148	Acute coronary syndrome	Cardiovascular	2016
129	Antithrombotics: indications and management	Cardiovascular	2012
162	Assessment of COVID-19 in primary care	Infectious disease	2023
145	Assessment, diagnosis and interventions for autism spectrum disorders	Mental health and behavioural conditions	2016
168	Assessment, diagnosis, care and support for people with dementia and their carers	Mental health and behavioural conditions	2023
130	Brain injury rehabilitation in adults	Central nervous system	2013
158	British guideline on the management of asthma	Respiratory	2019
152	Cardiac arrhythmias in coronary heart disease	Cardiovascular	2018
150	Cardiac rehabilitation	Cardiovascular	2017
167	Care of deteriorating patients	Other	2023
156	Children and young people exposed prenatally to alcohol	Other	2019
146	Cutaneous melanoma	Cancer	2023
138	Dental interventions to prevent caries in children	Mouth and Dental	2014
126	Diagnosis and management of colorectal cancer	Cancer	2016
143	Diagnosis and management of epilepsy in adults	Central nervous system	2015
164	Eating disorders	Mental health and behavioural conditions	2022
159	Epilepsies in children and young people: Investigative procedures and management	Central nervous system	2021
144	Glaucoma referral and safe discharge	Eye	2015
132	Long term follow up of survivors of childhood cancer	Cancer	2013
165	Long-acting buprenorphine	Other	2022
147	Management of chronic heart failure	Cardiovascular	2016
136	Management of chronic pain	Central nervous system	2019
116	Management of diabetes	Endocrine Nutritional and Metabolic	2010
135	Management of epithelial ovarian cancer	Cancer	2018
133	Management of hepatitis C	Infectious disease	2013
137	Management of lung cancer	Cancer	2014
142	Management of osteoporosis and the prevention of fragility fractures	Musculoskeletal	2021
140	Management of primary cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma	Cancer	2014
131	Management of schizophrenia	Mental health and behavioural conditions	2013
151	Management of stable angina	Cardiovascular	2018
160	Management of suspected bacterial lower urinary tract infection in adult women	Urogenital	2020
161	Managing the long-term effects of COVID-19	Infectious disease	2021
166	National clinical guideline for stroke for the UK and Ireland	Cardiovascular	2023
170	Optimising glycaemic control in people with type 1 diabetes	Endocrine Nutritional and Metabolic	2024
169	Perinatal mental health conditions	Mental health and behavioural conditions	2023
154	Pharmacological management of glycaemic control in people with type 2 diabetes	Endocrine Nutritional and Metabolic	2017
155	Pharmacological management of migraine	Central nervous system	2023
163	Prevention and management of venous thromboembolism in COVID-19	Infectious disease	2021
122	Prevention and management of venous thromboembolism	Cardiovascular	2014
149	Risk estimation and the prevention of cardiovascular disease	Cardiovascular	2017
157	Risk reduction and management of delirium	Mental health and behavioural conditions	2019
	Shared decision making (NICE guideline NG197)	Other	2022
100	SIGN 100: A handbook for patient and carer representatives	Other	2019
50	SIGN 50: a guideline developer's handbook	Other	2019
128	The SIGN discharge document	Other	2012
134	Treatment of primary breast cancer	Cancer	2013

Title	Topic	Status	Remit	Pub Date (estimated)
Antibiotics prophylaxis in surgery	Other	In Progress	This guideline will update SIGN 104: Antibiotic prophylaxis in surgery to provide guidance on the use of prophylactic and therapeutic antibiotics in patients undergoing surgical or interventional procedures in a hospital setting.	Winter 2025
Asthma (SIGN/BTS/NICE)	Respiratory	In Progress	A joint guideline for the diagnosis, monitoring and management of chronic asthma.	Spring 2024
Diabetes in pregnancy	Endocrine Nutritional and Metabolic Gynaecology pregnancy and birth	In Progress	The guideline will cover preconceptive care, detection and management of gestational diabetes, antenatal care and optimising glucose control, intrapartum and postnatal care.	Spring 2024
Management of Chronic pain 2023 update	Central nervous system	In Progress	This guideline will focus on assessing and managing chronic pain (pain lasting longer than 12 weeks) in adults. It will apply to non-specialist healthcare settings that are not specifically designed for treating chronic pain. Self management, pharmacological, psychological, physical, complementary and dietary therapies are covered. Pain related to cancer is not covered.	Summer 2025
Type 2 diabetes prevention	Endocrine Nutritional and Metabolic	In Progress	The guideline will cover identification of adults at increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes, non-pharmacological interventions and pharmacological interventions that prevent progression to type 2 diabetes in individuals at increased risk, and achieving remission of type 2 diabetes.	Summer 2024

This is a list of topics that have been proposed to SIGN. Further details of the process can be found here.

Subject	Topic	Request Type	Proposer	Stage	Proposal
Complex and multidiagnostic psychological presentations	Mental health and behavioural conditions	New	Alasdair Forrest	Rejected	Complex and multidiagnostic psychological presentations proposal
Diagnosis and management of headache	Central nervous system	Refresh	Ian McHardy	Rejected	Diagnosis and management of headache refresh
Management of metastatic breast cancer	Cancer	New	Dr Tom Berry	Accepted	Metastatic breast cancer proposal
Peripheral arterial disease (PAD)	Accepted Cardiovascular	New	Jill Belch	On hold	Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) proposal
Refresh: Non-pharmaceutical management of depression	Mental health and behavioural conditions	Refresh	Hannah Brisbane	Accepted
Update: Acute coronary syndrome	Cardiovascular	Refresh	3-year scope	Accepted
Update: Antibiotic prophylaxis in surgery	Other	Refresh		Accepted
Update: Antithrombotics: indications and management	Other	Refresh		Accepted
Update: Management of chronic venous leg ulcers	Skin	Refresh	Julie Brittenden	On programme
Venous Thromboembolism (VTE)	Cardiovascular	New	Adrian Brady	Accepted	VTE/PE proposal

Number	Title	Topic	Published	Status	Comment
92	92 Management of hepatitis C	Infectious disease	2006	Superseded	Superseded by SIGN 133
93	93 Acute coronary syndromes	Central nervous system	2007	Superseded	Superseded by SIGN 148
104	Antibiotic prophylaxis in surgery	Other	2008	Withdrawn	Withdrawn June 2018
82	Bipolar affective disorder	Mental health and behavioural conditions	2005	Withdrawn	Withdrawn May 2015
153	British guideline on the management of Asthma - Superseded	Respiratory	2016	Superseded	Superseded by SIGN 158
91	Bronchiolitis in children	Respiratory	2006	Withdrawn	Withdrawn November 2016
139	Care of deteriorating patients - withdrawn	Other	2014	Archived	Withdrawn June 2023
1	Clinical guidelines: Criteria for appraisal for national use	Other	1995	Archived	Superseded by SIGN 50
59	Community management of lower respiratory tract infection in adults	Respiratory	2002	Withdrawn	Withdrawn June 2012
106	Control of pain in adults with cancer	Central nervous system	2008	Withdrawn	Withdrawn July 2018
66	Diagnosis and management of childhood otitis media in primary care	Respiratory	2003	Withdrawn	Withdrawn February 2013
103	Diagnosis and management of chronic kidney disease	Urogenital	2008	Withdrawn	Withdrawn June 2018
81	Diagnosis and management of epilepsies in children and young people	Central nervous system	2005	Withdrawn	Withdrawn March 2015
90	Diagnosis and management of head and neck cancer	Cancer	2006	Withdrawn	Withdrawn October 2016
107	Diagnosis and management of headache in adults	Central nervous system	2008	Withdrawn	Withdrawn August 2018
121	Diagnosis and management of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis in adults	Skin	2010	Archived	Withdrawn October 2020
113	Diagnosis and pharmacological management of Parkinson's disease	Central nervous system	2010	Withdrawn	Withdrawn February 2020
68	Dyspepsia	Digestive System	2003	Withdrawn	Withdrawn March 2013
110	Early management of patients with a head injury	Central nervous system	2009	Withdrawn	Withdrawn May 2019
75	Epithelial ovarian cancer	Cancer	2003	Superseded	Superseded by SIGN 135
61	Investigation of post-menopausal bleeding	Gynaecology pregnancy and birth	2002	Withdrawn	Withdrawn September 2012
105	Management of acute upper and lower gastrointestinal bleeding	Digestive System	2008	Withdrawn	Withdrawn July 2018
124	Management of adult testicular germ cell tumours	Cancer	2011	Archived	Withdrawn March 2021
125	Management of atopic eczema in primary care	Skin	2011	Archived	Withdrawn March 2021
112	Management of attention deficit and hyperkinetic disorders in children and young people	Mental health and behavioural conditions	2009	Withdrawn	Withdrawn September 2019
84	Management of breast cancer in women	Cancer	2005	Withdrawn	Withdrawn December 2015
99	Management of cervical cancer	Cancer	2008	Withdrawn	Withdrawn January 2018
120	Management of chronic venous leg ulcers	Skin	2010	Archived	Withdrawn August 2020
67	Management of colorectal cancer	Cancer	2003	Superseded	Superseded by SIGN 126
123	Management of early rheumatoid arthritis	Musculoskeletal	2011	Archived	Withdrawn February 2021
109	Management of genital Chlamydia trachomatis infection	Urogenital	2009	Withdrawn	Withdrawn July 2019
111	Management of hip fracture in older people	Musculoskeletal	2009	Withdrawn	Withdrawn June 2019
102	Management of invasive meningococcal disease in children and young people	Infectious disease	2008	Withdrawn	Withdrawn May 2018
115	Management of obesity	Digestive System	2010	Archived	Withdrawn February 2020
69	Management of obesity in children and young people	Digestive System	2003	Superseded	Superseded by SIGN 115
73	Management of obstructive sleep apnoea/hypopnoea syndrome in adults	Other	2003	Withdrawn	Withdrawn June 2013
87	Management of oesophageal and gastric cancer	Cancer	2006	Withdrawn	Withdrawn June 2016
71	Management of osteoporosis	Musculoskeletal	2003	Withdrawn	Withdrawn June 2013
80	Management of patients with lung cancer	Cancer	2005	Superseded	Superseded by SIGN 137
108	Management of patients with stroke or TIA: Assessment, investigation, immediate management	Cardiovascular	2008	Archived	Withdrawn July 2018
119	Management of patients with stroke: Identification and management of dysphagia	Cardiovascular	2010	Archived	Withdrawn June 2020
118	Management of patients with stroke: Rehabilitation, prevention and management of complications, and discharge planning	Cardiovascular	2010	Archived	Withdrawn June 2020
127	Management of perinatal mood disorders	Gynaecology pregnancy and birth	2012	Archived	Superseded by SIGN 169
117	Management of sore throat and indications for tonsillectomy	Ear Nose and Throat	2010	Archived	Withdrawn April 2020
88	Management of suspected bacterial urinary tract infection in adults - superseded	Urogenital	2006	Archived	Superseded by SIGN 160
85	Management of transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder	Cancer	2005	Withdrawn	Withdrawn December 2015
79	Management of urinary incontinence in primary care	Urogenital	2004	Withdrawn	Withdrawn December 2014
114	Non-pharmaceutical management of depression	Mental health and behavioural conditions	2010	Archived	Withdrawn February 2020
54	Perioperative Blood Transfusion for Elective Surgery	Other	2001	Withdrawn	Withdrawn
60	Postnatal depression and puerperal psychosis	Gynaecology pregnancy and birth	2002	Superseded	Superseded by SIGN 127
77	Postoperative management in adults	Other	2004	Withdrawn	Withdrawn August 2014
83	Prevention and management of dental decay in the pre-school child	Mouth and Dental	2005	Withdrawn	Withdrawn November 2015
56	Prevention and management of hip fracture in older people	Musculoskeletal	2002	Superseded	Superseded by SIGN 111
4	Prevention of Visual Impairment in Diabetic Patients	Endocrine Nutritional and Metabolic	1996	Superseded	Superseded by SIGN 116
62	Prophylaxis of venous thromboembolism	Cardiovascular	2002	Withdrawn	Withdrawn October 2012
58	Safe Sedation of Children Undergoing Diagnostic and Therapeutic Procedures	Other	2004	Withdrawn	Withdrawn May 2014
101	SIGN 101 British guideline on the management of Asthma	Respiratory	2008	Superseded	Superseded by SIGN 141
2	SIGN 2 Prophylaxis of Venous Thromboembolism	Cardiovascular	1995	Superseded	Superseded by SIGN 62
5	SIGN 5 The Immediate Discharge Document	Other	1996	Superseded	Superseded by SIGN 128
55	SIGN 55 Management of Diabetes	Endocrine Nutritional and Metabolic	2001	Superseded	Superseded by SIGN 116
57	SIGN 57 Cardiac rehabilitation	Cardiovascular	2002	Withdrawn	Withdrawn January 2012
63	SIGN 63 British guideline on the management of Asthma	Respiratory	2003	Superseded	Superseded by SIGN 101
64	SIGN 64 Management of patients with stroke: rehabilitation, prevention and management of complications, and discharge planning	Cardiovascular	2002	Superseded	Superseded by SIGN 118
70	SIGN 70 Diagnosis and management of epilepsy in adults	Central nervous system	2003	Superseded	Superseded by SIGN 143
72	SIGN 72 Cutaneous melanoma	Cancer	2003	Withdrawn	Withdrawn July 2013
76	SIGN 76 Long term follow up of survivors of childhood cancer	Cancer	2004	Superseded	Superseded by SIGN 132
78	SIGN 78 Management of patients with stroke: Identification and management of dysphagia	Cardiovascular	2004	Superseded	Superseded by SIGN 119
94	SIGN 94 Cardiac arrhythmias in coronary heart disease	Cardiovascular	2007	Superseded	Superseded by SIGN 152
95	SIGN 95 Management of chronic heart failure	Cardiovascular	2007	Superseded	Superseded by SIGN 147
96	SIGN 96 Management of stable angina	Cardiovascular	2007	Superseded	Superseded by SIGN 151
97	SIGN 97 Risk estimation and the prevention of cardiovascular disease	Cardiovascular	2007	Superseded	Superseded by SIGN 149
98	SIGN 98 Assessment, diagnosis and clinical interventions for children and young people with autism spectrum disorders	Mental health and behavioural conditions	2007	Superseded	Superseded by SIGN 145
65	The immediate discharge document	Other	2003	Superseded	Superseded by SIGN 128
74	The management of harmful drinking and alcohol dependence in primary care	Other	2003	Withdrawn	Withdrawn September 2013
3	The Use of Palliative Radiotherapy in the Treatment of Non Small Cell Lung Cancer	Cancer	1996	Superseded	Superseded by SIGN 137

These guidelines are withdrawn when they are 10 years old. Without a full review of the evidence it is not possible to be certain that a guideline: :

remains relevant to NHS Scotland
makes recommendations based on the most up-to-date evidence for best practice
does not recommend unsafe practice, and
complies with current mandatory advice or government policy.

If there is still a need for a withdrawn guideline, please propose a topic.

SIGN guideline recommendations are available on the move with the award-winning SIGN app for iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch and Android phones and tablets.

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