Guidelines for Adolescent Well Care: is There Consensus?

Purpose Of Review: This paper reviews recent clinical guidelines for adolescent well care put forth by seven national organizations. It compares the guidelines recommendation by recommendation in order to assess consistency between them.

Recent Findings: We found 102 specific preventive care recommendations that encompassed eight different domains. The only recommendations consistent in the seven guidelines are measuring height and weight with a physical exam, updating immunizations, and addressing general anticipatory guidance. The greatest inconsistencies were noted in specific recommendations in the behavioral/developmental and counseling/anticipatory guidance domains.

Summary: When compared recommendation by recommendation, we found that the guidelines for adolescent preventive care vary considerably. A unified set of guidelines may help reduce the number of conflicting recommendations and may increase provider confidence and adherence to adolescent-specific clinical guidelines.