Clinical management of liver cyst infections: an international, modified Delphi-based clinical decision framework

Renée Duijzer, Lucas H P Bernts, Anja Geerts, Bart van Hoek, Minneke J Coenraad, Chantal Rovers, Domenico Alvaro, Ed J Kuijper, Frederik Nevens, Jan Halbritter, Jordi Colmenero, Juozas Kupcinskas, Mahdi Salih, Marie C Hogan, Maxime Ronot, Valerie Vilgrain, Nicolien M Hanemaaijer, Patrick S Kamath, Pavel Strnad, Richard TaubertRon T Gansevoort, Roser Torra, Silvio Nadalin, Tatsuya Suwabe, Tom J G Gevers, Vincenzo Cardinale, Joost P H Drenth, Marten A Lantinga*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal(Systematic) Review article peer-review

Abstract

Liver cyst infections often necessitate long-term hospital admission and are associated with considerable morbidity and mortality. We conducted a modified Delphi study to reach expert consensus for a clinical decision framework. The expert panel consisted of 24 medical specialists, including 12 hepatologists, from nine countries across Europe, North America, and Asia. The Delphi had three rounds. The first round (response rate 21/24 [88%]) was an online survey with questions constructed from literature review and expert opinion, in which experts were asked about their management preferences and rated possible management strategies for seven clinical scenarios. Experts also rated 14 clinical decision-making items for relevancy and defined treatment outcomes. During the second round (response rate 13/24 [54%]), items that did not reach consensus and newly suggested themes were discussed in an online panel meeting. In the third round (response rate 16/24 [67%]), experts voted on definitions and management strategies using an online survey based on previous answers. Consensus was predefined as a vote threshold of at least 75%. We identified five subclassifications of liver cyst infection according to cyst phenotypes and patient immune status and consensus on episode definitions (new, persistent, and recurrent) and criteria for treatment success or failure was reached. The experts agreed that fever and elevated C-reactive protein are pivotal decision-making items for initiating and evaluating the management of liver cyst infections. Consensus was reached on 26 management statements for patients with liver cyst infections across multiple clinical scenarios, including two treatment algorithms, which were merged into one after comments. We provide a clinical decision framework for physicians managing patients with liver cyst infections. This framework will facilitate uniformity in the management of liver cyst infections and can constitute the basis for the development of future guidelines.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)884-894
Number of pages11
JournalThe Lancet Gastroenterology and Hepatology
Volume9
Issue number9
Early online date12 Jun 2024
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Sept 2024

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