Title
Prioritising recommendations for conversion to living mode in the Australasian bronchiolitis guideline: a modified delphi study
Link to article in PubMed
Author(s)
Loveys, Kate
Babl, Franz E
Cotterell, Elizabeth
Haskell, Libby
O'Brien, Sharon
Oakley, Ed
Tavender, Emma J
Wilson, Catherine L
Alsweiler, Jane
Crawford, Nigel W
Crellin, Dianne
Crone, Sonja
Duke, Trevor
George, Shane
Peacock, Ken
Ratoni, Tomas
Smith, Annie
Starkie, Rebecca
Thomas, David
Wallace, Alexandra
Zhang, Michael
Borland, Meredith L
Dalziel, Stuart R
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The Australasian Bronchiolitis Guideline (ABG) provides evidence-based recommendations for managing one of the most frequent reasons for infant hospitalisation. As traditional guidelines age, they suffer from lack of relevance when new evidence is available but not incorporated. To address this limitation a guideline, or parts thereof, can be converted into a "living" mode, where new evidence is regularly incorporated into recommendations, enabling faster translation to practice. This study aimed to prioritise ABG recommendations for conversion to a living mode.
METHOD: Members of the 2025 ABG Guideline Advisory Group and Guideline Development Committee were invited to participate in an online, modified Delphi study. Panellists ranked 38 recommendations as low, medium, or high priority for conversion to a living mode across two rounds. A consensus threshold of ≥ 75% agreement was used. Data collection ceased once consensus was reached on ≥ 4 recommendations for conversion.
RESULTS: Twenty-five of 29 (86%) experts responded in round one and 20/25 (80%) in round two. Panel diversity was maintained throughout voting rounds. At round one, consensus was reached to convert three recommendations to a living format and 11/38 recommendations were excluded. At round two, one additional recommendation was prioritised for conversion and 16/24 were excluded. Consensus was not reached on seven recommendations.
CONCLUSION: Four key management recommendations will be converted to a living mode: high-flow therapy, combined glucocorticoid/adrenaline therapy, oxygen saturation targets, and chest X-ray in intensive care settings. These recommendations will be regularly updated as new evidence becomes available, supporting a more rapid translation to clinical practice.
METHOD: Members of the 2025 ABG Guideline Advisory Group and Guideline Development Committee were invited to participate in an online, modified Delphi study. Panellists ranked 38 recommendations as low, medium, or high priority for conversion to a living mode across two rounds. A consensus threshold of ≥ 75% agreement was used. Data collection ceased once consensus was reached on ≥ 4 recommendations for conversion.
RESULTS: Twenty-five of 29 (86%) experts responded in round one and 20/25 (80%) in round two. Panel diversity was maintained throughout voting rounds. At round one, consensus was reached to convert three recommendations to a living format and 11/38 recommendations were excluded. At round two, one additional recommendation was prioritised for conversion and 16/24 were excluded. Consensus was not reached on seven recommendations.
CONCLUSION: Four key management recommendations will be converted to a living mode: high-flow therapy, combined glucocorticoid/adrenaline therapy, oxygen saturation targets, and chest X-ray in intensive care settings. These recommendations will be regularly updated as new evidence becomes available, supporting a more rapid translation to clinical practice.
Publication information
Clin Public Health Guidel. 2026 Mar 16;3(2):e70065. doi: 10.1002/gin2.70065. eCollection 2026 Apr.
Date Issued
2026-03-16
Type
Journal Article
Journal Title
Clinical and public health guidelines
Permanent link to this record
ISSN
2836-3973
Journal Volume Number
3
Pages
e70065
Owning collection
