Consensus procedures and their role in pediatric rheumatology

Abstract

The Delphi Technique and Nominal Group Technique are two well-recognized consensus-formation methodologies specifically designed to combine judgments from a group of experts. The Delphi Technique utilizes a series of well-defined questionnaire-based surveys, whereas Nominal Group Technique is a structured face-to-face meeting designed to facilitate consensus. Consensus-formation techniques require that each step build on the results of the previous steps. In this review, we describe these techniques, how they work, and their practical application in pediatric rheumatology, where they have been widely used to develop the outcome measures of several chronic rheumatic diseases, including juvenile idiopathic arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, and idiopathic inflammatory myopathies, as well as the classification criteria for juvenile systemic sclerosis and juvenile vasculitides.

An International registry on Autoinflammatory diseases: the Eurofever experience

“…Five main categories were considered: (i) baseline information, (ii) clinical manifestations, (iii) laboratory examinations, (iv) imaging and other diagnostic procedures and (v) response to treatments. Further revisions of the forms were subsequently evaluated by the experts with a final approval of the definitive version by nominal group technique10 during a Consensus Meeting in March 2009.…”

A European Network of Paediatric Research at the European Medicines Agency (Enpr-EMA)

“…The second working group dealt with quality standards and recognition criteria for inclusion in Enpr-EMA that were derived by consensus formation techniques (Delphi and nominal group techniques) 36 37. The six criteria are reported in online supplementary table 1.…”

Consensus proposal for taxonomy and definition of the autoinflammatory diseases (AIDs): a Delphi study

“…For choosing the best definition for AIDs and the most appropriate name for each AID, we have used the Delphi technique, which enables consensus among a group of experts through mail communication 50. The Delphi method is essentially a series of questionnaires involving several steps, each of which is based on the results of the previous step.…”