Enhanced Recovery After Surgery, Perioperative Care, Surgical Care
Conditions
Keywords
ERAS, Delphi Technique, RICA Pathway, Perioperative Medicine
Brief summary
RIDECLAS is an observational, prospective, non-interventional consensus study using a modified Delphi methodology. The study aims to obtain expert consensus on the classification and final formulation of recommendations for the RICA Pathway, an enhanced recovery pathway for adult surgery. Participants will be healthcare professionals with experience in enhanced recovery, perioperative medicine, surgery, anesthesiology, nursing, rehabilitation, or related disciplines. Experts will complete sequential online questionnaires. Individual responses will remain confidential, and aggregated anonymized feedback will be provided between Delphi rounds. The study does not involve patients, clinical interventions, biological samples, drugs, or medical devices.
Detailed description
This study will use a modified Delphi process conducted remotely through electronic questionnaires. A coordinating committee will prepare an initial list of recommendations based on the previous RICA Pathway document and updated evidence. Expert panelists will rate each recommendation using a 1-to-9 Likert scale and may provide free-text comments. Two Delphi rounds are planned, with a third round if needed for items without sufficient consensus or for reformulated statements. Between rounds, participants will receive aggregated and anonymized feedback, including measures of agreement, median scores, dispersion, and a summary of comments. Consensus for acceptance is predefined as at least 75% of ratings in the 7-9 range and no more than 15% in the 1-3 range. Consensus for rejection is predefined as at least 75% of ratings in the 1-3 range and no more than 15% in the 7-9 range. Items not meeting consensus criteria may be reassessed in subsequent rounds. The analysis will be descriptive and will include response rates, attrition between rounds, item-level agreement, median scores, interquartile ranges, and qualitative thematic review of comments.
Interventions
OTHERModified Delphi questionnaire
Sequential online questionnaires used to rate and classify proposed RICA Pathway recommendations. This is not a clinical intervention and does not involve patient care, drugs, devices, or invasive procedures.
Sponsors
Universidad de Zaragoza
Universidad Miguel Hernandez de Elche
Study design
Observational model
OTHER
Time perspective
PROSPECTIVE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* Healthcare professional or researcher with relevant clinical or scientific experience in enhanced recovery pathways, perioperative medicine, surgery, anesthesiology, nursing, rehabilitation, or related disciplines. At least 5 years of professional experience. Membership in GERM or participation in professional networks related to enhanced recovery in adult surgery. Willingness to participate in the planned Delphi rounds. Provision of electronic informed consent.
Exclusion criteria
* Failure to meet the predefined professional experience criteria. Failure to provide informed consent. Failure to complete the first Delphi round. Duplicate or incomplete responses that cannot be validated for analysis.
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Expert consensus on RICA Pathway recommendations | Through study completion, up to 7 months | Consensus will be assessed for each recommendation using predefined Delphi criteria. Acceptance consensus will be defined as at least 75% of ratings in the 7-9 range and no more than 15% in the 1-3 range. Rejection consensus will be defined as at least 75% of ratings in the 1-3 range and no more than 15% in the 7-9 range. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Degree of agreement for each recommendation | After each Delphi round, up to 7 months. | Distribution of ratings, median score, interquartile range, and percentage of ratings in predefined agreement/disagreement ranges. |
| Stability of ratings between Delphi rounds | Between round 1 and round 2, and round 3 if performed, up to 7 months. | Descriptive assessment of changes in item-level ratings and consensus status between rounds. |
| Response rate and attrition between rounds | After each Delphi round, up to 7 months. | Number and percentage of invited experts who complete each round, and percentage lost between rounds. |
| Qualitative analysis of expert comments | After each Delphi round, up to 7 months. | Thematic review of free-text comments to support item reformulation and interpretation of items without consensus. |
Countries
Spain
Contacts
CONTACTJosé-Manuel Ramírez Rodríguez, Professor of Surgery
Outcome results
None listed