UNASSIGNED: Major trauma centre (MTC) care has been associated with improved outcomes for injured patients. English ambulance services and trauma networks currently use a range of triage tools to select patients for bypass to MTCs. A standardised national triage tool may improve triage accuracy, cost-effectiveness and the reproducibility of decision-making.
UNASSIGNED: We conducted an expert consensus process to derive and develop a major trauma triage tool for use in English trauma networks. A web-based Delphi survey was conducted to identify and confirm candidate triage tool predictors of major trauma. Facilitated roundtable consensus meetings were convened to confirm the proposed triage tool\'s purpose, target diagnostic threshold, scope, intended population and structure, as well as the individual triage tool predictors and cut points. Public and patient involvement (PPI) focus groups were held to ensure triage tool acceptability to service users.
UNASSIGNED: The Delphi survey reached consensus on nine triage variables in two domains, from 109 candidate variables after three rounds. Following a review of the relevant evidence during the consensus meetings, iterative rounds of discussion achieved consensus on the following aspects of the triage tool: reference standard, scope, target diagnostic accuracy and intended population. A three-step tool comprising physiology, anatomical injury and clinical judgement domains, with triage variables assessed in parallel, was recommended. The triage tool was received favourably by PPI focus groups.
UNASSIGNED: This paper presents a new expert consensus derived major trauma triage tool with defined purpose, scope, intended population, structure, constituent variables, variable definitions and thresholds. Prospective evaluation is required to determine clinical and cost-effectiveness, acceptability and usability.

BACKGROUND: Recent developments in esophageal cancer treatment, including studies exploring active surveillance following chemoradiotherapy, have led to a need for clear terminology and definitions regarding different multimodal treatment options.
OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to reach worldwide consensus on the definitions and semantics of multimodal esophageal cancer treatment.
METHODS: In total, 72 experts working in the field of multimodal esophageal cancer treatment were invited to participate in this Delphi study. The study comprised three Delphi surveys sent out by email and one online meeting. Input for the Delphi survey consisted of terminology obtained from a systematic literature search. Participants were asked to respond to open questions and to indicate whether they agreed or disagreed with different statements. Consensus was reached when there was ≥75% agreement among respondents.
RESULTS: Forty-nine of 72 invited experts (68.1%) participated in the first online Delphi survey, 45 (62.5%) in the second survey, 21 (46.7%) of 45 in the online meeting, and 39 (86.7%) of 45 in the final survey. Consensus on neoadjuvant and definitive chemoradiotherapy with or without surgery was reached for 27 of 31 items (87%). No consensus was reached on follow-up after treatment with definitive chemoradiotherapy.
CONCLUSIONS: Consensus was reached on most statements regarding terminology and definitions of multimodal esophageal cancer treatment. Implementing uniform criteria facilitates comparison of studies and promotes international research collaborations.

The rotes of attempted and completed suicide among adolescents are increasing globally. Social support can help decrease the risk of adolescent suicide, but this aspect has been rarely studied in China. The present study aimed to use the Delphi methodology to establish a set of guidelines for the development of social support resources, with the goal of collectively reducing suicide risks among adolescents in Shanghai. We commenced the study in April 2021, established a research team, searched the keywords using Web of Science from 2016 to 2021 and ultimately designed a pre-evaluation index. Next, following Donabedian\'s Structure-Process-Outcome model, the research developed a questionnaire comprising 3 level-1, 12 level-2, and 73 level-3 indicators. Ten experts were enlisted to conduct three rounds of e-mail inquiries in order to finalize the indicator system, resulting in 2 level-1, 11 level-2, and 52 level-3 indicators, as well as expert consensus. Our findings indicate that the social support systems should include parents, schools, psychiatric hospitals, social organizations, and government departments, with the government sector being the most important ((M = 9.4). Furthermore, our study revealed that school counselors and psychologists play similar roles to psychiatrists within the interdisciplinary team (M ± S = 9.2 ± 1.1). As per the expert consensus, social support systems should strengthen government-led and interdisciplinary collaboration, prioritize suicide prevention in schools and encourage greater involvement from social organizations.

BACKGROUND: Substance use problems have a major impact on the physical and mental health of individuals, families and communities. Early intervention may have a positive effect on recovery and treatment outcomes for those with substance use problems, reducing related risk and harm. Separate mental health first aid guidelines on how a member of the public could assist someone experiencing or developing alcohol use and drug use problems in high income Western countries were developed using Delphi expert consensus in 2009 and 2011, respectively. This study aimed to synthesise and update these two original guidelines to reflect current evidence and best practice.
METHODS: The Delphi expert consensus method was used to determine the inclusion of statements in the redeveloped guidelines. A questionnaire was developed using previously endorsed helping statements from the original guidelines on alcohol and drug use problems, as well as relevant content identified in systematic searches of academic and grey literature. Three panels of experts (people with lived experience, support people and professionals) rated statements over three consecutive online survey rounds to determine the importance of their inclusion in the guidelines. Statements endorsed by at least 80% of each panel were included.
RESULTS: 103 panellists completed all three survey rounds. They rated 469 statements and endorsed 300 of these for inclusion in the redeveloped guidelines.
CONCLUSIONS: This study has developed a broader and more comprehensive set of guidelines for how to support a person experiencing or developing a substance use problem. The redeveloped guidelines provide more detail on knowledge about and recognition of substance use problems, approaching and assisting people who want to change or are not ready to change, harm reduction, community-based supports and professional help, but have less on physical first aid actions. Mental Health First Aid International will use these guidelines in future updates of their training courses.

BACKGROUND: Acupuncture is often used as an adjunctive therapy for gastric ulcer (GU). However, there is still a lack of evidence on the appropriate and optimal interventions for acupuncture. This study aimed to optimize the acupuncture treatment of gastric ulcers based on expert consensus for guiding acupuncturists in clinical practice.
METHODS: To conduct this study, research evidence was gathered from databases in both Chinese and English. After discussion, preliminary clinical questions were developed. Following three rounds of multidisciplinary clinical expert consultation, the initial consensus questionnaire was formed after testing and modification by team members. A Delphi consensus was ultimately reached to answer the questionnaire and develop guidance for acupuncture treatment. A 9-point Likert-type scale was used to measure the agreement of expert consensus, where a score of 80% between 7 and 9 was defined as \"agreement.\"
RESULTS: After two rounds of Delphi voting, a total of 35 items reached an agreement. These items can be roughly divided into 6 domains. According to expert consensus, the application of acupuncture for gastric ulcer should follow a semistandardized approach. Based on the syndrome differentiation, the main acupoints recommended are Zusanli (ST36), Zhongwan (CV12), Neiguan (PC6), and Sanyinjiao (SP6), while the adjunct acupoints include Taichong (LR3), Guanyuan (CV4), Xuehai (SP10), and Taixi (KI3). In the experience of experts, adverse events associated with acupuncture are typically mild and often manifest as subcutaneous hematomas.
CONCLUSIONS: There is a lack of definitive acupuncture guidelines that can effectively determine the optimal therapeutic approach for the treatment of gastric ulcer. This expert consensus provides recommendations for clinical research and practice of acupuncture, with a particular focus on the selection of acupoints. However, further exploration through rigorous studies is necessary due to the limited availability of clinical evidence.

BACKGROUND: Identifying and managing serious spinal pathology (SSP) such as cauda equina syndrome or spinal infection in patients presenting with low back pain is challenging. Traditional red flag questioning is increasingly criticized, and previous studies show that many clinicians lack confidence in managing patients presenting with red flags. Improving decision-making and reducing the variability of care for these patients is a key priority for clinicians and researchers.
OBJECTIVE: We aimed to improve SSP identification by constructing and validating a decision support tool using a Bayesian network (BN), which is an artificial intelligence technique that combines current evidence and expert knowledge.
METHODS: A modified RAND appropriateness procedure was undertaken with 16 experts over 3 rounds, designed to elicit the variables, structure, and conditional probabilities necessary to build a causal BN. The BN predicts the likelihood of a patient with a particular presentation having an SSP. The second part of this study used an established framework to direct a 4-part validation that included comparison of the BN with consensus statements, practice guidelines, and recent research. Clinical cases were entered into the model and the results were compared with clinical judgment from spinal experts who were not involved in the elicitation. Receiver operating characteristic curves were plotted and area under the curve were calculated for accuracy statistics.
RESULTS: The RAND appropriateness procedure elicited a model including 38 variables in 3 domains: risk factors (10 variables), signs and symptoms (17 variables), and judgment factors (11 variables). Clear consensus was found in the risk factors and signs and symptoms for SSP conditions. The 4-part BN validation demonstrated good performance overall and identified areas for further development. Comparison with available clinical literature showed good overall agreement but suggested certain improvements required to, for example, 2 of the 11 judgment factors. Case analysis showed that cauda equina syndrome, space-occupying lesion/cancer, and inflammatory condition identification performed well across the validation domains. Fracture identification performed less well, but the reasons for the erroneous results are well understood. A review of the content by independent spinal experts backed up the issues with the fracture node, but the BN was otherwise deemed acceptable.
CONCLUSIONS: The RAND appropriateness procedure and validation framework were successfully implemented to develop the BN for SSP. In comparison with other expert-elicited BN studies, this work goes a step further in validating the output before attempting implementation. Using a framework for model validation, the BN showed encouraging validity and has provided avenues for further developing the outputs that demonstrated poor accuracy. This study provides the vital first step of improving our ability to predict outcomes in low back pain by first considering the problem of SSP.
UNASSIGNED: RR2-10.2196/21804.

Inadequate reporting of smoking cessation intervention trials is common and leads to significant challenges for researchers. The aim of this study was to tailor CONSORT (Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials)-SPI (Social and Psychological Interventions) guidelines to improve reporting of trials of behavioural interventions to promote smoking cessation.
Informed by missing data from the IC-SMOKE (Intervention and Comparison group support provided in SMOKing cEssation) systematic review project, this study used a multi-stage Delphi process to examine which items could be added or modified to improve the reporting of smoking cessation trials. The first stage involved an on-line survey of 17 international experts in smoking cessation and trial methodology voting on the importance of items for inclusion in the updated guidelines. This was followed by a face-to-face expert consensus meeting attended by 15 of these experts, where the final inclusion and exclusion of new items and modifications were agreed upon. A nine-point Likert scale was used to establish consensus, with suggested modifications requiring agreement of 75% or more. Disagreements in the first stage were presented again at the second stage for discussion and a second round of voting. Only items which reached the threshold for agreement were included.
The experts agreed on the inclusion of 10 new items and the specification of 12 existing items. This included modifications that could apply to trials more widely (e.g. the rationale for the comparator), but also modifications that were very specific to smoking cessation trials (e.g. the reporting of smoking cessation outcomes).
A Delphi study has developed a modified CONSORT-SPI guideline (CONSORT-SPI-SMOKE) to improve the reporting of trials of behavioural interventions to promote smoking cessation.

BACKGROUND: The effectiveness of physiotherapy to reduce low back pain depends on patient adherence to treatment. Facilitators and barriers to patient adherence are multifactorial and include patient and therapist-related factors. This Delphi study aimed to identify an expert consensus on aspects facilitating the adherence of patients with back pain to physiotherapy.
METHODS: International experts were invited to participate in a three-round standard Delphi survey. The survey contained 49 items (32 original and 17 suggested by experts) which were rated on 5-point Likert scales. The items were assigned to six domains. The consensus level was defined as 60%.
RESULTS: Of 38 invited experts, 15 followed the invitation and completed all three rounds. A positive consensus was reached on 62% of the 49 proposed items to facilitate adherence. The highest consensus was achieved in the domains \"Influence of biopsychosocial factors\" (89%) and \"Influence of cooperation between physiotherapists and patients\" (79%). Additional important domains were the \"Influence of competencies of physiotherapists\" (71%) and \"Interdisciplinary congruence\" (78%). \"Administration aspects\" and the \"Use of digital tools\" did not reach expert consensus.
CONCLUSIONS: Biopsychosocial factors, therapeutic skills, and patient-physiotherapist collaboration should be considered in physiotherapy practice to facilitate adherence in patients with LBP. Future studies should prospectively evaluate the effectiveness of individual or combined identified aspects for their influence on patient adherence in longitudinal study designs.

UNASSIGNED: Segmentectomy as a parenchymal-sparing surgical approach has been recommended over lobectomy in select patients with early-stage non-small cell lung cancer. This study aimed to address 3 aspects of segmentectomy (\"patient indication\"; \"segmentectomy approaches\"; \"lymph node assessment\") where there is limited clinical guidance.
UNASSIGNED: A modified Delphi approach comprising 3 anonymous surveys and 2 expert discussions was used to establish consensus on the aforementioned topics among 15 thoracic surgeons (2 Steering Committee; 2 Task Force; 11 Voting Experts) from Asia who have extensive segmentectomy experience. Statements were developed by the Steering Committee and Task Force based on their clinical experience, published literature (rounds 1-3), and comments received from Voting Experts through surveys (rounds 2-3). Voting Experts indicated their agreement with each statement on a 5-point Likert scale. Consensus was defined as ≥70% of Voting Experts selecting either \"Agree\"/\"Strongly Agree\" or \"Disagree\"/\"Strongly Disagree.\"
UNASSIGNED: Consensus from the 11 Voting Experts was reached on 36 statements (11 \"patient indication\" statements; 19 \"segmentation approaches\" statements; 6 \"lymph node assessment\" statements). In rounds 1, 2, and 3, consensus was reached on 48%, 81%, and 100% of drafted statements, respectively.
UNASSIGNED: A recent phase 3 trial reported significantly improved 5-year overall survival rates for segmentectomy compared with lobectomy, proposing thoracic surgeons to consider segmentectomy as a surgical option in suitable patients. This consensus serves as a guidance to thoracic surgeons considering segmentectomy in patients with early non-small cell lung cancer, outlining key principles that surgeons should consider in surgical decision-making.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1017675.].