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ABSTRACT: Objective
To develop an international core outcome set (COS), a minimal collection of outcomes that should be measured and reported in all future clinical trials evaluating treatments of acute simple appendicitis in children.Summary of background data
A previous systematic review identified 115 outcomes in 60 trials and systematic reviews evaluating treatments for children with appendicitis, suggesting the need for a COS.Methods
The development process consisted of 4 phases: (1) an updated systematic review identifying all previously reported outcomes, (2) a 2-stage international Delphi study in which parents with their children and surgeons rated these outcomes for inclusion in the COS, (3) focus groups with young people to identify missing outcomes, and (4) international expert meetings to ratify the final COS.Results
The systematic review identified 129 outcomes which were mapped to 43 unique outcome terms for the Delphi survey. The first-round included 137 parents (8 countries) and 245 surgeons (10 countries), the second-round response rates were 61% and 85% respectively, with 10 outcomes emerging with consensus. After 2 young peoples' focus groups, 2 additional outcomes were added to the final COS (12): mortality, bowel obstruction, intraabdominal abscess, recurrent appendicitis, complicated appendicitis, return to baseline health, readmission, reoperation, unplanned appendectomy, adverse events related to treatment, major and minor complications.Conclusion
An evidence-informed COS based on international consensus, including patients and parents has been developed. This COS is recommended for all future studies evaluating treatment ofsimple appendicitis in children, to reduce heterogeneity between studies and facilitate data synthesis and evidence-based decision-making.
SUBMITTER: Knaapen M
PROVIDER: S-EPMC9645539 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Dec
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Knaapen Max M Hall Nigel J NJ Moulin Darcy D van der Lee Johanna H JH Butcher Nancy J NJ Minneci Peter C PC Svensson Jan F JF St Peter Shawn D SD Adams Susan S Nah Shireen A SA Skarsgard Erik D ED Zani Augusto A Emil Sherif S Suominen Janne S JS Aziz Dayang A DA Rai Rambha R Offringa Martin M van Heurn Ernst W EW Bakx Roel R Gorter Ramon R RR
Annals of surgery 20201229 6
<h4>Objective</h4>To develop an international core outcome set (COS), a minimal collection of outcomes that should be measured and reported in all future clinical trials evaluating treatments of acute simple appendicitis in children.<h4>Summary of background data</h4>A previous systematic review identified 115 outcomes in 60 trials and systematic reviews evaluating treatments for children with appendicitis, suggesting the need for a COS.<h4>Methods</h4>The development process consisted of 4 phas ...[more]