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

Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

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

Observational

Enrollment (Estimated)

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

  • 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

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
Intervention / Treatment
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

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

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

Universidad de Zaragoza

Collaborators

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)

June 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

December 31, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

December 31, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

May 22, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 22, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

May 29, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

May 29, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 22, 2026

Last Verified

May 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Other Study ID 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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