RIDECLAS: Delphi Classification of RICA Pathway Recommendations (RIDECLAS)

May 22, 2026 updated by: Jose-M Ramirez, Universidad de Zaragoza

Delphi Study for the Classification of Recommendations for the RICA Pathway (Enhanced Recovery in Adult Surgery)

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.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

This study will use a modified Delphi process conducted remotely through electronic questionnaires. A coordinating committee will prepare an initial list of recommendations based on the previous RICA Pathway document and updated evidence. Expert panelists will rate each recommendation using a 1-to-9 Likert scale and may provide free-text comments. Two Delphi rounds are planned, with a third round if needed for items without sufficient consensus or for reformulated statements. Between rounds, participants will receive aggregated and anonymized feedback, including measures of agreement, median scores, dispersion, and a summary of comments. Consensus for acceptance is predefined as at least 75% of ratings in the 7-9 range and no more than 15% in the 1-3 range. Consensus for rejection is predefined as at least 75% of ratings in the 1-3 range and no more than 15% in the 7-9 range. Items not meeting consensus criteria may be reassessed in subsequent rounds. The analysis will be descriptive and will include response rates, attrition between rounds, item-level agreement, median scores, interquartile ranges, and qualitative thematic review of comments.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Observational

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
384

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.
  • Name: José-Manuel Ramírez Rodríguez, Professor of Surgery
  • Phone Number: +34 976 556400
  • Email: jramirez@unizar.es

Study Locations

  • Spain
    • Zaragoza
      • Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain, 50009
        • Department of Surgery
        • Contact:
          • Grupo Español de Rehabilitacion Multimodal GERM SOCIEDAD CIENTIFICA
          • Phone Number: +34 636935065
          • Email: secretariagerm@gmail.com

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

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.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • 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.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • 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.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort

Group / Cohort

A group or subgroup of participants in an observational study that is assessed for biomedical or health outcomes.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
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
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.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Expert consensus on RICA Pathway recommendations
Time Frame: Through study completion, up to 7 months
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 Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Degree of agreement for each recommendation
Time Frame: After each Delphi round, up to 7 months.
Distribution of ratings, median score, interquartile range, and percentage of ratings in predefined agreement/disagreement ranges.
After each Delphi round, up to 7 months.
Stability of ratings between Delphi rounds
Time Frame: Between round 1 and round 2, and round 3 if performed, up to 7 months.
Descriptive assessment of changes in item-level ratings and consensus status between rounds.
Between round 1 and round 2, and round 3 if performed, up to 7 months.
Response rate and attrition between rounds
Time Frame: After each Delphi round, up to 7 months.
Number and percentage of invited experts who complete each round, and percentage lost between rounds.
After each Delphi round, up to 7 months.
Qualitative analysis of expert comments
Time Frame: After each Delphi round, up to 7 months.
Thematic review of free-text comments to support item reformulation and interpretation of items without consensus.
After each Delphi round, up to 7 months.

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Universidad de Zaragoza

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
Universidad Miguel Hernandez de Elche

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
June 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
December 31, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
December 31, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
May 22, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
May 22, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
May 29, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
May 29, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
May 22, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
May 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • GERMDELPHI

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

Individual participant data will not be shared. This is a modified Delphi consensus study involving expert panelists rather than patients. Individual responses will be treated confidentially, stored in coded form, and analyzed and reported only in aggregate. Sharing individual-level responses could compromise participant confidentiality and may affect the independence of expert judgment in the Delphi process. Aggregated results, consensus levels, and methodological details will be reported in the final publication.

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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