Quality assessment of breast cancer studies conducted with the Delphi technique.

BACKGROUND: The Delphi technique is a consensus method aiming to obtain statistical estimations from a qualitative approach, through an iterative process that leads to consensus within experts. The main characteristics of the technique include iteration, anonymity, feedback, and consensus reaching. When high-quality, quantitative evidence on a particular topic is insufficient, the Delphi technique can be used for making decisions in clinical scenarios. However, the quality of studies on breast cancer conducted with this technique, has not been assessed. OBJECTIVE: We aim to evaluate the quality of studies on breast cancer which used the Delphi technique as their method. METHODS: A quality assessment tool (Quali-D) was created through consensus among experts on the Delphi technique. Then, the tool was applied to studies on breast cancer which used the Delphi technique as their method. RESULTS: Studies conducted through the Delphi technique mainly assessed for quality indicators and expressed needs in patients with breast cancer. High-quality characteristics were reported in 63.89% of the studies. 98.61% used the Delphi technique due to lack of a more adequate method to solve their research question. 98.61% summarized and presented results in a clear way. In 91.67% of the studies, at least two rounds were conducted. 86.11% described the methods for expert selection in a complete manner. Only 54.17% of the studies reported an anonymous process and 4.17% of the studies disclosed conflicts of interest thoroughly. CONCLUSIONS: A variety of topics were assessed through the Delphi technique in cases where no other technique would have been more appropriate for assessing these issues. Significant limitations are present in terms of anonymity and full disclosure of conflicts of interest. We found that the quality of studies conducted with the Delphi technique regarding breast cancer is overall good. However, the limitations of each study must be considered when applying their results to clinical practice.

Determination of time in range associated with HbA1c ≤ 6.5% in Latin American pregnant women diagnosed with type 1 diabetes mellitus using an automated insulin delivery system.

AIMS: To determine the correlation between %TIR and HbA1c in pregnant women with type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM1). METHODS: Diagnostic test study in a prospective cohort of pregnant patients with DM1 using automated insulin delivery system (AID)in Colombia and Chile. RESULTS: Fifty-two patients were included [mean age 31.8 ± 6.2 years, pregestational HbA1c 7.2% [interquartile range (IQR), 6.5-8.2]. During follow-up, we found a better metabolic control during the second (HbA1c 6.40%, IQR 5.9,7.1) and third trimesters (HbA1c 6.25%;IQR 5.9,6.8). A weak and negative correlation between %TIR and HbA1c was found for all the gestation (Spearman's rank correlation coefficient:-0.22, p:0.0329), and in the second (r:-0.13, p: 0.38) and third trimesters (r:-0.26, p = 0.08). %TIR had poor discriminating capacity for predicting HbA1c < 6% (area under the curve [AUC], 0.59; 95% confidence interval [CI],0.46-0.72) and for predicting HbA1c < 6.5% (AUC, 0.57;95% CI,0.44-0.70). The optimal cutoff points for %TIR were > 66.1% for predicting HbA1c < 6% (65% sensitivity, 62% specificity) and %TIR > 61.1% for HbA1c < 6.5% (59% sensitivity, 54% specificity). CONCLUSION: The correlation between HbA1c and %TIR during pregnancy was weak. The optimal cutoff points for identifying patients with HbA1c < 6.0% and < 6.5% were %TIR > 66.1% and > 61.1%, respectively, with moderate sensitivity and specificity.