Bridging research and practice: Clinical Recommendation Articles

Clinical Recommendation Articles are designed to translate complex scientific evidence into clear, practical guidance for everyday clinical use. Recognizing the demands on busy clinicians, these articles distil the most relevant research into an accessible format that supports informed, evidence-based decision-making.

These articles are currently available for AO Spine surgeons and represent a significant advancement in making high‑quality evidence readily deployable for educational activities or at the point of care. They are particularly valuable for AO Faculty: when developing courses, webinars, or seminars, faculty members can efficiently review the latest recommendations from the AO Knowledge Forums—a trusted, research-driven body dedicated to advancing clinical excellence. By offering clear, practice-focused guidance, clinical recommendation articles serve as a reliable foundation for educational content and clinical adoption.

Drawing from external evidence and AO Spine Knowledge Forums peer-reviewed studies, each Clinical Recommendation Article synthesizes current evidence and presents concise clinical recommendations categorized as strong or conditional using the internationally recognized GRADE methodology. This approach allows clinicians to quickly understand the current state of the evidence and its implications for practice, without the need to navigate an overwhelming volume of literature.

Developed as part of the AO Knowledge Translation initiative, the articles reflect close collaboration between the AO Spine Education and Research Commissions. Through a series of dedicated workshops, the AO Spine Education Commission emphasized the need for evidence to be packaged in a way that is intuitive, clinically relevant, and accessible to community-based surgeons. The resulting articles represent a meaningful step forward in ensuring that high-quality research leads to real-world impact in patient care.

To date, a comprehensive knowledge package consisting of an Editorial and ten Clinical Recommendation Articles has already been produced, offering a robust and growing resource for clinicians and educators alike.