Harnessing the power of clinician judgement. Identifying risk of deteriorating and dying in people with a haematological malignancy: A Delphi study

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Button, Elise
Gavin, Nicole C
Chan, Raymond J
Connell, Shirley
Butler, Jason
Yates, Patsy
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2019
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Abstract

Aim: To provide expert consensus on the clinical indicators that signal a person with a haematological malignancy is at high risk of deteriorating and dying. Background: Identification of people who are at risk of deteriorating and dying is essential to facilitate patient autonomy, appropriate treatment decisions, and effective end-of-life care. Design: A three-step modified Delphi approach. Methods: The study was conducted over 6 months (September 2015–March 2016) to gather opinion from an international panel of experts (N = 27) on the clinical indicators that signal a person with a haematological malignancy is at high risk of deteriorating and dying. The first round was informed by a systematic review of prognostic factors present in the final months of life for people with a haematological malignancy. Consensus was achieved if 70% of responses fell within two points on a seven-point Likert-type scale. Findings: Consensus was achieved on the following 11 clinical indicators: (a) advancing age; (b) declining performances status; (c) presence of co-morbidities; (d) disease status; (e) persistent infections (bacterial and viral); (f) fungal infections; (g) severe graft versus host disease; (h) requiring high care; (i) signs of frailty; (j) treatment limitations; and (k) anorexia and/or weight loss. Consensus was also achieved on associated themes and statements for each indicator. Conclusion: The findings of this study indicate that subjective clinician-assessed indicators that are contextually relevant to the nature of haematological malignancies are markers of risk. This study has provided valuable preliminary findings on the topic and will inform future research.

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Journal of Advanced Nursing

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75

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1

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© 2019 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Harnessing the power of clinician judgement. Identifying risk of deteriorating and dying in people with a haematological malignancy: A Delphi study, Journal of Advanced Nursing, 75 (1), pp. 161-174, 2019, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1111/jan.13889. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving (http://olabout.wiley.com/WileyCDA/Section/id-828039.html)

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Clinical sciences

Nursing

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