Consensus clinical approach for a newly diagnosed systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis among members of the pediatric rheumatology Arab group

Abstract

Background Systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis (sJIA) is a diagnosis of exclusion. The complex nature and clinical variety of the disease, as well as the vast clinical variation of disease presentation, may lead to difficulties in disease detection and subsequent delays in treatment. Aim To provide a consensus guidance on the management of newly diagnosed sJIA patients among pediatric rheumatologists in Arab countries. Methods This work was conducted in two phases. The first phase utilized an electronic survey sent through an email invitation to all pediatric rheumatologists in Arab countries. In the second phase, a Task Force of ten expert pediatric rheumatologists from Arab countries met through a series of virtual meetings. Results obtained in phase one were prioritized using a nominal group and Delphi-like techniques in phase two. Results Seven overarching principles and a set of recommendations were approved by the Task Force to form the final consensus. Conclusion This is the first consensus on a clinical approach for pediatric rheumatic diseases among Arab pediatric rheumatologists. It is presented as a guidance on the clinical approach to sJIA that requires further evidence, and future updates are anticipated.

Protocol for an extended scoping review on the use of virtual nominal group technique in research

“…The coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has fundamentally shifted how we work, learn and conduct research [10]. The use of traditional approaches in research including the NGT have been altered; for example, some researchers have moved the face-to-face in person NGT meetings to a virtual environment [11][12][13][14]. Nelson (2022) used 3 nominal groups to identify preferred burnout strategies for residents, involving two virtual NGTs and one faceto-face meeting.…”

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“…The coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has fundamentally changed the way we work, learn, and conduct research [16] and NGT has not been exempt from the shift; many researchers transitioned the in-person NGT meeting to a virtual environment [17][18][19][20]. For instance, Nelson et al (2022) employed 3 nominal groups to identify burnout strategies in resident physicians, one being the traditional in-person meeting followed by two of which were held virtually via Zoom [17].…”