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A Dutch consensus statement on the diagnosis and treatment of ANCA-associated vasculitis
E Dirikgil1, S W Tas, A Rutgers
1Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands.
Insights
Dutch experts reached national consensus on diagnosing and treating antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis (AAV). This initiative aims to improve clinical decision-making and guideline implementation for AAV patients in daily practice.
Area of Science:
- Rheumatology
- Internal Medicine
- Clinical Practice Guidelines
Background:
- Guidelines exist for antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis (AAV) diagnosis and treatment.
- Clinical practice requires implementation strategies for guideline adherence.
- A Dutch initiative aimed to establish national consensus for AAV care.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a national, multidisciplinary consensus on AAV diagnosis and treatment.
- To create an actionable strategy for implementing guideline-derived recommendations.
- To support clinical decision-making in daily AAV patient care.
Main Methods:
- A multidisciplinary working group addressed AAV diagnosis, terminology, and treatment.
- National consensus was achieved using a Delphi-based method and online survey.
- Consensus required 70% agreement on statements regarding AAV care.
Main Results:
- Ninety-eight professionals participated in assessing 50 statements on AAV diagnosis and treatment.
- Consensus was reached on 37 out of 50 statements (74%).
- Agreement was achieved on a diagnostic strategy and a treatment algorithm for AAV patients.
Conclusions:
- A national, multidisciplinary consensus on AAV diagnosis and treatment strategy was established in the Netherlands.
- This consensus facilitates the implementation of guideline recommendations into clinical practice.
- Future research will evaluate AAV care implementation and practice variation.
Introduction:
Despite the availability of several guidelines on the diagnosis and treatment of antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis (AAV), clinical routine practice will only improve when an implementation strategy is in place to support clinical decision making and adequate implementation of guidelines. We describe here an initiative to establish national and multidisciplinary consensus on broad aspects of the diagnosis and treatment of AAV relevant to daily clinical practice in the Netherlands.
Methods:
A multidisciplinary working group of physicians in the Netherlands with expertise on AAV addressed the broad spectrum of diagnosis, terminology, and immunosuppressive and non-immunosuppressive treatment, including an algorithm for AAV patients. Based on recommendations from (inter)national guidelines, national consensus was established using a Delphi-based method during a conference in conjunction with a nationally distributed online consensus survey. Cut-off for consensus was 70% (dis)agreement.
Results:
Ninety-eight professionals were involved in the Delphi procedure to assess consensus on 50 statements regarding diagnosis, treatment, and organisation of care for AAV patients. Consensus was achieved for 37/50 statements (74%) in different domains of diagnosis and treatment of AAV including consensus on the treatment algorithm for AAV.
Conclusion:
We present a national, multidisciplinary consensus on a diagnostic strategy and treatment algorithm for AAV patients as part of the implementation of (inter)national guideline-derived recommendations in the Netherlands. Future studies will focus on evaluating local implementation of treatment protocols for AAV, and assessments of current and future clinical practice variation in the care for AAV patients in the Netherlands.
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