Guideline Development
Clinical research questions Delphi process Review and research Round table congress meeting (and final Delphi) – Port Elizabeth, March 2019 Formulation of recommendations The development of the document involved a multi-step process. Experts in the field of anaesthesia and those with an interest in PBM were invited to participate after a call for interested parties through SASA communication. An
Round table congress meeting (and final Delphi) – Port Elizabeth, March 2019
Formulation of recommendations
The development of the document involved a multi-step process. Experts in the field of anaesthesia and those with an interest in PBM were invited to participate after a call for interested parties through SASA communication. An effort was made to ensure representation from all major centres across South Africa.
Clinical Research Questions
The clinical research questions were derived from the AAGBI Use of Blood Components and Their Alternatives (2016), and the Task Force on Patient Blood Management for Adult Cardiac Surgery of the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery (EACTS) and the European Association of Cardiothoracic Anaesthesiology (EACTA).6,7 The questions were selected and reviewed for relevance to the Southern African context. Additional questions were added based on local clinical experience. All questions were compiled in a survey format that was tested amongst the group for ambiguity and clarity.
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Delphi Process
A Delphi process was run using the questions developed above. Consensus was achieved at 80%. Results were collated, and where consensus was not reached, the questions were selected for further review and research.
Review and Research
Questions where consensus was not reached in the electronic Delphi process were divided amongst the working group, as were different topics within the guidelines. Each question was allocated to members of the working group who were tasked with researching the question further, collating the summary of the available data on the topic, and incorporating these into the guidelines.
Round Table Congress Meeting (and Final Delphi) – Port Elizabeth, March 2019
The data on the questions where consensus was not reached was presented at a round table meeting held in Port Elizabeth on 7 March 2019. The questions where consensus was still not reached were discussed further, and a final Delphi process was completed. Where consensus was still not reached but there was consensus within a narrow range, this was noted. If no consensus was possible, this was also noted. The guidelines were then distributed to special interest groups within the SASA for comments and approval.
Formulation of Recommendations
The results of the Delphi rounds and data synthesis from the members of the working group were collated to form the backbone of the current guidelines. Each recommendation is derived from the responses to the clinical research questions from the expert working group.
South African Society of Anaesthesiologists (SASA) Guidelines for Patient Blood Management 2020. Confirmed as current version on the SASA website as of November 2024.