Gouldthorpe Craig, Ancoli-Israel Sonia, Cash Elizabeth, Innominato Pasquale, Jakobsen Gunnhild, Lévi Francis, Miaskowski Christine, Parganiha Arti, Pati Atanu Kumar, Pereira Deidre, Revell Victoria, Zeitzer Jamie M, Davies Andrew
School of Medicine, Trinity College Dublin, D02 PN40 Dublin, Ireland.
Academic Department of Palliative Medicine, Our Lady's Hospice & Care Services, D6W RY72 Dublin, Ireland.
Cancers (Basel). 2023 Jul 26;15(15):3784. doi: 10.3390/cancers15153784.
Circadian rest-Activity Rhythm Disorders (CARDs) are common in patients with cancer, particularly in advanced disease. CARDs are associated with increased symptom burden, poorer quality of life, and shorter survival. Research and reporting practices lack standardization, and formal diagnostic criteria do not exist. This electronic Delphi (e-Delphi) study aimed to formulate international recommendations for the assessment and diagnosis of CARDs in patients with cancer.
An international e-Delphi was performed using an online platform (Welphi). Round 1 developed statements regarding circadian rest-activity rhythms, diagnostic criteria, and assessment techniques. Rounds 2 and 3 involved participants rating their level of agreement with the statements and providing comments until consensus (defined internally as 67%) and stability between rounds were achieved. Recommendations were then created and distributed to participants for comments before being finalized.
Sixteen participants from nine different clinical specialties and seven different countries, with 5-35 years of relevant research experience, were recruited, and thirteen participants completed all three rounds. Of the 164 generated statements, 66% achieved consensus, and responses were stable between the final two rounds.
The e-Delphi resulted in international recommendations for assessing and diagnosing CARDs in patients with cancer. These recommendations should ensure standardized research and reporting practices in future studies.
昼夜休息-活动节律障碍（CARDs）在癌症患者中很常见，尤其是在晚期疾病患者中。CARDs与症状负担增加、生活质量较差和生存期缩短有关。研究和报告实践缺乏标准化，且不存在正式的诊断标准。这项电子德尔菲（e-Delphi）研究旨在制定关于癌症患者CARDs评估和诊断的国际建议。
使用在线平台（Welphi）进行国际电子德尔菲研究。第一轮提出了关于昼夜休息-活动节律、诊断标准和评估技术的陈述。第二轮和第三轮让参与者对他们对这些陈述的认同程度进行评分并发表评论，直到达成共识（内部定义为67%）且两轮之间的结果稳定。然后制定建议并分发给参与者征求意见，之后最终确定。
招募了来自九个不同临床专业和七个不同国家的16名参与者，他们具有5至35年的相关研究经验，13名参与者完成了所有三轮研究。在生成的164条陈述中，66%达成了共识，最后两轮的回答稳定。
电子德尔菲研究得出了关于癌症患者CARDs评估和诊断的国际建议。这些建议应确保未来研究中的标准化研究和报告实践。
