LI Yanlong 1,2 , WANG Xin 3 , SHI Qiuling 4 , LIN Jietao 5,6,7 , SUN Lingling 5,6,7 , AN Bo 5,6,7 , GUAN Minyi 5,6,7 , DAI Jiajie 1 , LIN Lizhu 5,6,7
  • 1. The First Clinical Medical School of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou 510000, P. R. China;
  • 2. Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 100000, P. R. China;
  • 3. Department of Symptom Research, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston 77036, USA;
  • 4. College of Public Health, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400016, P. R. China;
  • 5. The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou 510000, P. R. China;
  • 6. Guangdong Clinical Research Academy of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangzhou 510000, P. R. China;
  • 7. Lingnan Medical Research Center of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou 510000, P. R. China;
LIN Lizhu, Email: linlizhu@gzucm.edu.cn
Pulmonary nodule; Efficacy evaluation; Symptoms; Scale; Delphi; Traditional Chinese medicine
10.7507/1672-2531.202412034
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Objective  To develop a preliminary "pulmonary nodule symptom scale" based on the Delphi method, providing a tailored, standardized, normalized, and promotable symptomatic evaluation tool for the efficacy assessment of pulmonary nodule patients treated with traditional Chinese medicine or integrated traditional Chinese and Western medicine interventions. Methods  A preliminary pool of scale items was formed through literature review, interviews with doctors and patients, and reference to guidelines and consensus on pulmonary nodules and patient-reported outcome (PRO) scales related to lung cancer. Two rounds of expert consultation were conducted using the Delphi method. Based on the concentration and variation indicators of expert evaluations, and considering experts’ suggestions for specific item deletions and modifications, a core group meeting was held to screen and refine the scale items. Results  Invitations were sent to 54 experts, with 51 accepting the consultation. The active coefficient for the first round of consultation was 94.4%, and for the second round, it was 100%. The average authority coefficient for the 51 experts was 0.896. The Kendall’s coefficient of concordance and the average coefficient of variation for the first and second rounds of consultation were 0.215 (P<0.001) and (0.34±0.07), 0.162 (P<0.001) and (0.24±0.05), respectively. Through two rounds of Delphi expert consultation, a preliminary “pulmonary nodule symptom scale” covering 17 items across four dimensions - respiratory symptoms, systemic manifestations, psychological state, and overall assessment - was formed. Conclusion  The experts participating in this Delphi consultation had high authority and enthusiasm, and they have a good level of acceptance and consistency for the preliminary “pulmonary nodule symptom scale”. Subsequent empirical research will be conducted on a large sample cohort of pulmonary nodule patients to verify the scale’s stability and effectiveness.

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