IMPACCT (Improving Palliative, Aged and Chronic Care through Clinical Research and Translation), University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
School of Nursing Sydney, University of Notre Dame Australia, Fremantle, Western Australia, Australia.
Int J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2020 Jul;35(7):737-748. doi: 10.1002/gps.5292. Epub 2020 Mar 20.
Delirium is a serious and distressing neurocognitive condition common in people with advanced illness. The understanding of delirium pathophysiology is limited and largely hypothetical. To accelerate empirical understanding of delirium pathophysiology, robust scientific methods for conducting and reporting delirium biomarker studies are urgently needed. The aim of this study was to develop international consensus on the core elements of high-quality delirium biomarker studies.
A three-round modified Delphi survey was conducted from February to August 2019. Participants were international researchers experienced in conducting delirium studies from a range of settings (hospital, university, research centres). Round one commenced with open-ended questions developed from results from a prior systematic review and the REMARK (REporting recommendations for tumour MARKer prognostic studies) checklist. Responses were qualitatively analysed, and closed statements were developed. Participants then ranked the importance of these statements using a 5-point Likert scale in rounds 2 and 3. A priori consensus was defined as ≥70% participant agreement. Descriptive statistics for each item were computed including the mean Likert scores, SD and median participant scores.
Twenty-eight participants completed survey round one, 16 completed round two and 19 completed the final round. Consensus was achieved for a total of 60 items.
The Delphi survey identified items that expert researchers agreed were important in the conduct of delirium biomarker studies. These reporting items provide a strong platform for improved methodological quality and opportunities to synthesise future delirium biomarker studies.
谵妄是一种严重且令人痛苦的神经认知障碍，常见于晚期疾病患者。目前对谵妄病理生理学的认识有限，且大多是假设性的。为了加速对谵妄病理生理学的实证理解，迫切需要稳健的科学方法来进行和报告谵妄生物标志物研究。本研究旨在就高质量谵妄生物标志物研究的核心要素达成国际共识。
我们进行了三轮改良 Delphi 调查，时间为 2019 年 2 月至 8 月。参与者为来自不同环境（医院、大学、研究中心）的具有丰富谵妄研究经验的国际研究人员。第一轮从先前系统评价和 REMARK（报告肿瘤标志物预后研究建议）检查表的结果中提出了开放性问题。对答复进行了定性分析，并制定了封闭陈述。然后，参与者在第二轮和第三轮中使用 5 分李克特量表对这些陈述的重要性进行了排名。事先定义的共识为≥70%的参与者达成一致。对每个项目进行了描述性统计，包括平均李克特得分、标准差和中位数参与者得分。
共有 28 名参与者完成了第一轮调查，16 名完成了第二轮，19 名完成了最终轮。总共达成了 60 项共识。
德尔菲调查确定了专家研究人员认为在进行谵妄生物标志物研究中重要的项目。这些报告项目为提高方法学质量和有机会综合未来的谵妄生物标志物研究提供了坚实的平台。
