An International Delphi Consensus on Diagnostic Criteria for Buerger's Disease

BACKGROUND Buerger's disease (BD) remains a debilitating condition. Despite multiple published diagnostic criteria for BD, none is universally accepted as a gold standard. OBJECTIVE To establish consensus on the diagnostic criteria for BD. METHODS We conducted a two-round modified Delphi consensus study. The questionnaire included statements from several commonly used diagnostic criteria for BD. Qualitative and quantitative analysis methods were performed. An agreement level of 70% was applied. RESULTS Twenty-nine experts from 18 countries participated in this study. Overall, 75 statements were circulated in Round 1. Of these, 28% of statements were accepted. Following comments, 21 statements were re-circulated in Round 2, and 90% were accepted. Although more than 90% of the experts did not agree that diagnosis of BD…