What are Consensus on Science with Treatment Recommendations (CoSTRs - pronounced "Co-Stars")?
A CoSTR is the final summary document produced by ILCOR Task Forces to describe the most up-to-date evidence available to answer a resuscitation question. It is made up of a summary of the published science, and a carefully considered treatment recommendation.
To create a CoSTR, first the Task Force defines the question and performs a systematic review. It searches systematically for all the available information. Then, using a process to assess the strength and quality of the evidence (called GRADE*), the Task Force members discuss the evidence and aim to reach a consensus on whether there is sufficient evidence to answer the question and formulate recommendations.
The Task Force members are chosen from around the world with expertise and diverse experiences related to resuscitation and add immense value when considering the recommendation. In addition, the CoSTR is shared for public consultation on our CoSTR website, and further improvements are made to create the final version.
The recommendations are then communicated as CoSTRs to all members of the resuscitation community—policy makers, organizations, healthcare professionals, patients, and the public. Each year ILCOR publishes all the CoSTRs in one combined document. The latest 2021 version can be accessed in Circulation and in Resuscitation.
*GRADE (Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluations) is a transparent framework for developing and presenting summaries of evidence and provides a systematic approach for making clinical practice recommendations.