Delphi methodology in healthcare research: How to decide its appropriateness

Table 1 Evaluation of Delphi studies on coronavirus disease 2019 that were published in 2020 on nine qualitative evaluation points

No.	Ref.	Medicine field	Geographical location (Country/Continent)	Aim or purpose	Guidance format
1	Vitacca et al[24]	Rehabilitation	Italy, Europe	Consensus on pulmonary rehabilitation in patients with COVID-19 after discharge from acute care.	Recommendations from experts’ panel.
2	Mikuls et al[25]	Rheumatology	USA, North America	Guidance to rheumatology providers on the management of adult rheumatic diseases during COVID-19 pandemic.	77 initial guidance statements converted to 25 final guidance statements.
3	Greenhalgh et al[26]	Primary health	UK, Europe	To develop early warning score for patients with suspected COVID-19 who need escalation to next level of care.	Development of software for early warning score in COVID-19 patients.
4	Lamb et al[27]	Respiratory medicine and critical care medicine	USA, NA	Guidance to physicians on the preparation, timing, and technique of tracheostomy in COVID-19 patients.	Eight recommendations.
5	Welsh Surgical Research Initiative (WSRI) Collaborative[28]	General surgery	Global	Identify the needs of the global OR workforce during COVID-19.	Statements, predominantly standardization of OR pathways, OR staffing, and preoperative screening or diagnosis.
6	Eibensteiner et al[29]	Nephrology	Europe	To gather expert knowledge and experience to guide the care of children with chronic kidney disease during the COVID-19 pandemic.	Qualitative expert statements and answers.
7	Bhandari et al[30]	Gastroenterology	Global	Guidance on how to resume endoscopy services during COVID-19.	Best practice recommendations to aid the safe resumption of endoscopy services globally in the era of COVID-19.
8	Guckenberger et al[31]	Radiotherapy	NA and Europe	To develop practice recommendations pertaining to safe radiotherapy for lung cancer patients during COVID-19 pandemic.	Consensus recommendations in common clinical scenarios of radiotherapy for lung cancer.
9	Aj et al[32]	General surgery	NA, Europe and Australia	Validation of international COVID-19 surgical guidance during COVID-19 pandemic.	Area of consensus and contentious areas from previous guidelines.
10	Gelfand et al[33]	Dermatology	NA	Guidance on the management of psoriatic disease during the COVID-19 pandemic.	22 guidance statements.
11	Allan et al[34]	Surgery	Global	Guidance on surgery and OR practices during COVID-19 pandemic.	Development of research priorities in discipline of surgery related to COVID-19.
12	Shanbehzadeh et al[35]	Medical informatics and public health	Iran, Middle east	Development of minimum data set for COVID-19 surveillance system.	Conceptual COVID-19 surveillance model.
13	Bergman et al[36]	Long-term nursing care	NA	Consensus guidance statements focusing on essential family caregivers and visitors in nursing homes during COVID-19 pandemic.	Recommendations for visitors in long term nursing homes.
14	Daigle et al[37]	Ophthalmology	Canada	Risk stratifying for oculofacial plastic and orbital surgeries in context of transmission of SARS-CoV-2.	Risk based algorithm for oculoplastic surgeries and recommendations for appropriate PPE.
15	Sorbello et al[38]	Anaesthesia	Europe	Review of available evidence and scientific publications about barrier-enclosure systems for airway management in suspected/confirmed COVID-19 patients.	Recommendation on enclosure barrier systems.
16	Jheon et al[39]	Cardiovascular and thoracic surgery	Asia	Thoracic cancer surgery during COVID-19 pandemic.	Recommendations on timing, approach, type of surgery, and postoperative requirements.
17	Olmos-Gómez et al[40]	Behavioural sciences	Spain, Europe	To know the impact of learning environments and psychological factors.	Future research priorities.
18	Sawhney et al[41]	Gastroenterology	Global	Study to emphasize patient-important outcomes while considering procedural timing.	Recommendations on procedural timing for common indications for advanced endoscopy during COVID-19.
19	Sciubba et al[42]	Neurosurgery	USA	Study to device scoring system to help with triaging surgical patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.	Scoring system to triage spinal surgery cases during COVID-19 pandemic.
20	Errett et al[43]	Environmental health science	USA	Study to develop an Environmental Health Sciences COVID-19 research agenda.	To validate, find limitations, and identify future research priorities.
21	Arezzo et al[44]	Minimal access surgery	Global	To study and provide recommendations for recovery plan in minimally invasive surgery amid COVID-19 pandemic.	Framework for resumption of surgery with focus on minimally invasive surgeries following COVID-19 pandemic.
22	Dashash et al[45]	Healthcare education	Syria	To identify essential competencies required for approaching patients with COVID-19.	Core competency points for health care professionals to prepare them for COVID-19 pandemic.
23	Ramalho et al[46]	Psychiatry	Global	To create a practical and clinically useful protocol for mental health care to be applied in the pandemic.	Consensus protocol for use of telemedicine in psychiatry consults during COVID-19 pandemic.
24	Saldarriaga Rivera et al[47]	Rheumatology	Columbia, SA	To produce recommendations for patients with rheumatological diseases receiving immunomodulatory and immunosuppressive therapies.	Recommendations for pharmacological management of patients with rheumatic diseases during COVID-19 pandemic.
25	Tchouaket Nguemeleu et al[48]	Public health	Canada, NA	Study for development and validation of a time and motion guide to assess the costs of prevention and control interventions for nosocomial infections.	Development and validation of a new instrument for systematic assessment of costs relating to the human and material resources used in nosocomial infection prevention and control.
26	Santana et al[49]	Nursing	Brazil, SA	To develop an adaptable acceptable nursing protocol during the pandemic.	Protocol for nurse managers to cope with pandemic.
27	Tang et al[50]	Oncology	China	To develop a risk model based on the experience of recently resumed activities in many cancer hospitals in China to reduce nosocomial transmission of SARS-CoV-2.	Risk model development on the basis of experience from recently resumed cancer hospital.
28	Jiménez-Rodríguez et al[51]	Public health	Spain	Develop recommendations for telemedicine in video consultations during COVID-19.	Consensus recommendations for healthcare professionals for proper management of video consultation.
29	Reina Ortiz et al[52]	Public health	Ecuador	Development of bio-safety measures to reduce cross-transmission of SARS-CoV-2.	Biosafety-at-home flyer for high-risk group and health care workers to reduce the risk of cross-transmission.
30	Douillet et al[53]	Internal medicine	France and Belgium	Identify reliable criteria for hospitalization or outpatient management in mild cases of COVID-19.	Development of toolkit “HOME-CoV rule”, a decision-making support mechanism for clinicians to target patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 requiring hospitalization.
31	Richez et al[54]	Rheumatology	France	Management of anti-inflammatory agents and disease-modifying-anti-rheumatic-drugs for rheumatological patients during COVID-19.	Recommendations to rheumatologists on management.
32	Yalçınkaya et al[55]	Physiotherapy and rehabilitation medicine	Turkey	Recommendations for the management of spasticity in Cerebral palsy children during COVID-19 pandemic.	Consensus recommendations for spasticity management in cerebral palsy children.
33	Tanasijevic et al[56]	Haemato-oncology	USA	To identify minimum hemoglobin for safe transfusion in myelodysplastic syndrome during COVID-19 pandemic.	Recommendations for lowest value of hemoglobin for which transfusions can safely forgo.
34	Alarcón et al[57]	Dentistry	Latin America	Education and practice in implant Dentistry during COVID-19 pandemic.	Consensus recommendations.

COVID-19: Coronavirus disease 2019; SARS-CoV-2: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; OR: Operating room.