RIDECLAS: Delphi Classification of RICA Pathway Recommendations

NCT07615855 | Not Yet Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: GERMDELPHI
• Study Type: observational
• Target: 384
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

RIDECLAS is an observational, prospective, non-interventional consensus study using a modified Delphi methodology. The study aims to obtain expert consensus on the classification and final formulation of recommendations for the RICA Pathway, an enhanced recovery pathway for adult surgery. Participants will be healthcare professionals with experience in enhanced recovery, perioperative medicine, surgery, anesthesiology, nursing, rehabilitation, or related disciplines. Experts will complete sequential online questionnaires. Individual responses will remain confidential, and aggregated anonymized feedback will be provided between Delphi rounds. The study does not involve patients, clinical interventions, biological samples, drugs, or medical devices.

Conditions

Enhanced Recovery After Surgery; Perioperative Care; Surgical Care

Keywords

ERAS; Delphi Technique; RICA Pathway; Perioperative Medicine

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Expert consensus on RICA Pathway recommendations

  Consensus will be assessed for each recommendation using predefined Delphi criteria. Acceptance consensus will be defined as at least 75% of ratings in the 7-9 range and no more than 15% in the 1-3 range. Rejection consensus will be defined as at least 75% of ratings in the 1-3 range and no more than 15% in the 7-9 range.

  Through study completion, up to 7 months

Secondary Outcomes (4)

• Degree of agreement for each recommendation

  After each Delphi round, up to 7 months.

• Stability of ratings between Delphi rounds

  Between round 1 and round 2, and round 3 if performed, up to 7 months.

• Response rate and attrition between rounds

  After each Delphi round, up to 7 months.

• Qualitative analysis of expert comments

  After each Delphi round, up to 7 months.

Study Arms (1)

Expert Panel

Healthcare professionals with experience in enhanced recovery pathways, perioperative medicine, surgery, anesthesiology, nursing, rehabilitation, or related disciplines who are invited to participate in the modified Delphi process.

Other: Modified Delphi questionnaire

Interventions

Modified Delphi questionnaire OTHER

Sequential online questionnaires used to rate and classify proposed RICA Pathway recommendations. This is not a clinical intervention and does not involve patient care, drugs, devices, or invasive procedures.

Expert Panel

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)
• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

The study population will consist of healthcare professionals and scientific society members with experience in enhanced recovery pathways, perioperative medicine, surgery, anesthesiology, nursing, rehabilitation, or related disciplines. Participants will be invited from the Grupo Español de Rehabilitación Multimodal (GERM) and related professional networks.

You may qualify if:

• Healthcare professional or researcher with relevant clinical or scientific experience in enhanced recovery pathways, perioperative medicine, surgery, anesthesiology, nursing, rehabilitation, or related disciplines.
• At least 5 years of professional experience. Membership in GERM or participation in professional networks related to enhanced recovery in adult surgery.
• Willingness to participate in the planned Delphi rounds. Provision of electronic informed consent.

You may not qualify if:

• Failure to meet the predefined professional experience criteria. Failure to provide informed consent. Failure to complete the first Delphi round. Duplicate or incomplete responses that cannot be validated for analysis.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Universidad de Zaragoza: lead
• Universidad Miguel Hernandez de Elche: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Department of Surgery

Zaragoza, Zaragoza, 50009, Spain

Location

Related Publications (4)

• Grupo de trabajo. Vía Clínica de Recuperación Intensificada en Cirugía del Adulto (RICA). Grupo Español de Rehabilitación Multimodal (GERM); 2026. Available at: https://grupogerm.es/via-rica-web/

  BACKGROUND

• Ripolles-Melchor J, Ramirez-Rodriguez JM, Casans-Frances R, Aldecoa C, Abad-Motos A, Logrono-Egea M, Garcia-Erce JA, Camps-Cervantes A, Ferrando-Ortola C, Suarez de la Rica A, Cuellar-Martinez A, Marmana-Mezquita S, Abad-Gurumeta A, Calvo-Vecino JM; POWER Study Investigators Group for the Spanish Perioperative Audit and Research Network (REDGERM). Association Between Use of Enhanced Recovery After Surgery Protocol and Postoperative Complications in Colorectal Surgery: The Postoperative Outcomes Within Enhanced Recovery After Surgery Protocol (POWER) Study. JAMA Surg. 2019 Aug 1;154(8):725-736. doi: 10.1001/jamasurg.2019.0995.

  PMID: 31066889 BACKGROUND

• Kehlet H, Dahl JB. Anaesthesia, surgery, and challenges in postoperative recovery. Lancet. 2003 Dec 6;362(9399):1921-8. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(03)14966-5.

  PMID: 14667752 BACKGROUND

• Gattrell WT, Logullo P, van Zuuren EJ, Price A, Hughes EL, Blazey P, Winchester CC, Tovey D, Goldman K, Hungin AP, Harrison N. ACCORD (ACcurate COnsensus Reporting Document): A reporting guideline for consensus methods in biomedicine developed via a modified Delphi. PLoS Med. 2024 Jan 23;21(1):e1004326. doi: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1004326. eCollection 2024 Jan.

  PMID: 38261576 BACKGROUND

Central Study Contacts

José-Manuel Ramírez Rodríguez, Professor of Surgery

CONTACT

+34 976 556400; jramirez@unizar.es

Study Design

• Study Type: observational
• Observational Model: OTHER
• Time Perspective: PROSPECTIVE
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Full Professor

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: May 22, 2026
• First Posted: May 29, 2026
• Study Start: June 1, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): December 31, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): December 31, 2026
• Last Updated: May 29, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-05

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

ES (1)