A Core Outcome Set for Intact Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms Under Surveillance

Area of Science:

• Vascular Surgery
• Health Outcomes Research
• Artificial Intelligence in Medicine

Background:

• Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) research often suffers from selective outcome reporting and poor methodological quality.
• Standardizing outcome measures through a core outcome set (COS) is crucial for improving evidence synthesis, particularly in artificial intelligence (AI) research.
• A COS ensures essential outcomes are consistently reported in clinical research, based on patient and expert consensus.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a Core Outcome Set (COS) for research involving patients with abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) under surveillance.
• To establish a standardized set of outcomes for improving the quality of evidence in AAA research.
• To facilitate the innovative application of this COS in AI research for cardiovascular disease progression.

Main Methods:

• A comprehensive longlist of AAA outcomes was compiled via systematic literature review and focus groups.
• A three-round European Delphi survey involving patients and healthcare professionals refined the outcome list.
• An expert consensus meeting finalized the COS, including key opinion leaders and patient representatives.

Main Results:

• The Delphi study included 104 patients and 153 healthcare professionals, starting with a 91-outcome longlist.
• Ten core pre- and postoperative outcomes were selected across six health domains.
• AAA rupture, survival, health-related quality of life, clinical success, and graft infection achieved 100% consensus for inclusion.

Conclusions:

• A ten-outcome COS has been established for abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) surveillance research.
• This COS should be implemented in both clinical trials and AI-driven research concerning AAA.
• Standardization through this COS will enhance the reliability and comparability of research findings.