Official ATS Documents include clinical practice guidelines, clinical statements, policy statements, research statements, technical standards, and workshop reports, many of which are developed collaboratively with other professional societies.
- Clinical practice guidelines make recommendations for patient care. The recommendations are based upon a systematic review and then formulated and graded using the GRADE approach.
- Clinical statements make recommendations for patient care, which are based upon a pragmatic evidence synthesis.
- Policy and research statements present the views of the ATS on issues related to public policy or research policy, respectively.
- Technical statements describe how to perform a test or procedure and describe the underlying evidence.
- Workshop reports describe conferences and workshops sponsored by the ATS.
Most Official ATS Documents are housed on the ATS Journals website, including abstracts, references, supplemental materials and more. For inquiries pertaining to official ATS documents, please contact documents@thoracic.org. A small number of Official ATS Documents that were co-sponsored by other professional societies appear in those societies’ journals.
Guideline Implementation Tools
American Thoracic Society (ATS) Official Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPGs) make recommendations for patient care that are informed by systematic reviews and then formulated and graded using the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) approach. The guidelines are compliant with the Institute of Medicine (now the National Academy of Medicine) Standards for Trustworthy Guidelines.
All CPGs are developed in collaboration with ATS committees or assemblies; many are also developed with other professional medical societies. CPGs led by the ATS are published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine (AJRCCM). An online supplement accompanies most CPGs. In addition, a clinical summary targeting clinicians is published in the Annals of ATS. CPGs co-sponsored by other professional medical societies may be published in those societies’ journals.
ATS CPGs are regularly disseminated via ATS Ed+, sessions at the International Conference, webinars, social media, news releases, podcasts and member newsletters.
For any questions, please contact Joseph Ruminjo, MD at jruminjo@thoracic.org.
The following CPGs have dissemination and implementation webpages. This is not a comprehensive list of all recent CPGs.
Asthma
- Use of Fractional Exhaled Nitric Oxide to Guide the Treatment of Asthma: An Official ATS Clinical Practice Guideline (2021)
- Management of Severe Asthma: A ERS/ATS Guideline (2020)
COPD
- Long-Term Noninvasive Ventilation in Chronic Stable Hypercapnic Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: An Official ATS Clinical Practice Guideline (2020)
- Pharmacologic Management of COPD: An Official ATS Clinical Practice Guideline (2020)
Interstitial Lung Disease
- Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (an Update) and Progressive Pulmonary Fibrosis in Adults: An Official ATS/ERS/JRS/ALAT Clinical Practice Guideline (2022)
- Diagnosis of Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis in Adults: An Official ATS/JRS/ALAT Clinical Practice Guideline (2020)
- Diagnosis and Detection of Sarcoidosis: An Official ATS Clinical Practice Guideline (2020)
- Diagnosis of IPF: An Official ATS/ERS/JRS/ALAT Clinical Practice Guideline (2018)
Oxygen Therapy
- Home Oxygen Therapy for Adults with Chronic Lung Disease: An Official ATS Clinical Practice Guideline (2020)
- Home Oxygen Therapy for Children: An Official ATS Clinical Practice Guideline (2019)
Pediatrics
- Outpatient Respiratory Management of Infants, Children, and Adolescents with Post-Prematurity Respiratory Disease: An Official American Thoracic Society Clinical Practice Guideline (2021)
- Diagnosis of Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia: An Official ATS Clinical Practice Guideline (2018)
Pleural Disease
- Management of Malignant Pleural Effusions: An Official ATS/STS/STR Clinical Practice Guideline (2018)
Pulmonary Infections
- Nucleic Acid-Based Testing for Noninfluenza Viral Pathogens in Adults with Suspected Community-acquired Pneumonia: An Official ATS Clinical Practice Guideline (2021)
- Treatment of Nontuberculous Mycobacterial Pulmonary Disease: An Official ATS/ERS/ESCMID/IDSA Clinical Practice Guideline (2020)
- Microbiological Laboratory Testing in the Diagnosis of Fungal Infections in Pulmonary and Critical Care Practice: An Official ATS Clinical Practice Guideline (2019)
- Diagnosis and Treatment of Adults with Community-acquired Pneumonia: An Official ATS/IDSA Guideline (2019)
- Treatment of Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis: An Official ATS/CDC/ERS/IDSA Clinical Practice Guideline (2019)
Pulmonary Rehabilitation
Pulmonary Function Testing
Sleep
- The Role of Weight Management in the Treatment of Adult Obstructive Sleep Apnea: An Official ATS Clinical Practice Guideline (2018)
- Evaluation and Management of Obesity Hypoventilation Syndrome: An Official ATS Clinical Practice Guideline (2019)