PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Byerly, Saskya
AU  - Nahmias, Jeffry
AU  - Stein, Deborah M
AU  - Haut, Elliott R
AU  - Smith, Jason W
AU  - Gelbard, Rondi
AU  - Ziesmann, Markus
AU  - Boltz, Melissa
AU  - Zarzaur, Ben L
AU  - Bala, Miklosh
AU  - Bernard, Andrew
AU  - Brakenridge, Scott
AU  - Brohi, Karim
AU  - Collier, Bryan
AU  - Burlew, Clay Cothren
AU  - Cripps, Michael
AU  - Crookes, Bruce
AU  - Diaz, Jose J
AU  - Duchesne, Juan
AU  - Harvin, John A
AU  - Inaba, Kenji
AU  - Ivatury, Rao
AU  - Kasten, Kevin
AU  - Kerby, Jeffrey D.
AU  - Lauerman, Margaret
AU  - Loftus, Tyler
AU  - Miller, Preston R.
AU  - Scalea, Thomas
AU  - Yeh, D Dante
TI  - A core outcome set for damage control laparotomy via modified Delphi method
AID  - 10.1136/tsaco-2021-000821
DP  - 2022 Jan 01
TA  - Trauma Surgery & Acute Care Open
PG  - e000821
VI  - 7
IP  - 1
4099  - http://tsaco.bmj.com/content/7/1/e000821.short
4100  - http://tsaco.bmj.com/content/7/1/e000821.full
SO  - Trauma Surg Acute Care Open2022 Jan 01; 7
AB  - Objectives Damage control laparotomy (DCL) remains an important tool in the trauma surgeon’s armamentarium. Inconsistency in reporting standards have hindered careful scrutiny of DCL outcomes. We sought to develop a core outcome set (COS) for DCL clinical studies to facilitate future pooling of data via meta-analysis and Bayesian statistics while minimizing reporting bias.Methods A modified Delphi study was performed using DCL content experts identified through Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma (EAST) ‘landmark’ DCL papers and EAST ad hoc COS task force consensus.Results Of 28 content experts identified, 20 (71%) participated in round 1, 20/20 (100%) in round 2, and 19/20 (95%) in round 3. Round 1 identified 36 potential COS. Round 2 achieved consensus on 10 core outcomes: mortality, 30-day mortality, fascial closure, days to fascial closure, abdominal complications, major complications requiring reoperation or unplanned re-exploration following closure, gastrointestinal anastomotic leak, secondary intra-abdominal sepsis (including anastomotic leak), enterocutaneous fistula, and 12-month functional outcome. Despite feedback provided between rounds, round 3 achieved no further consensus.Conclusions Through an electronic survey-based consensus method, content experts agreed on a core outcome set for damage control laparotomy, which is recommended for future trials in DCL clinical research. Further work is necessary to delineate specific tools and methods for measuring specific outcomes.Level of evidence V, criteriaAll data relevant to the study are included in the article or uploaded as supplementary information.