Congenital heart diseaseGuideline or statement
Triggers for Serious Illness Conversations in Adults With Congenital Heart Disease
- modified Delphi study
- international panel
- 3 rounds
- consensus predefined as ≥70% agreement
Authors' conclusion
This international consensus identified 18 major trigger criteria to support timely SIC initiation in adults with CHD. These criteria span diverse clinical scenarios and provide a practical framework for integrating SICs into routine care for adults with CHD.
Study context
- Population
- Health care professionals rating potential SIC trigger criteria for adults with congenital heart disease (CHD), with a second panel of people with lived experience (PWLEs) and advocacy group representativeshealth care professionals in the international panel, 41 clinical experts invited · PWLEs (second panel) 4 · advocacy group representatives (second panel) 4
- Participants
- 39 professionals
- Comparison
- international panel of health care professionals vs second panel
- international panel of health care professionalsn = 39
Recommendations
As reported in the abstract
Criteria reaching consensus · Round 1
Fifty of 67 criteria reached consensus
74.6%
Further findings
Major criteria
- Criteria classified as major
- Eighteen
- spanning "patient needs," "CHD-defect characteristics," "lifetime events," "preintervention" triggers, "disease progression," and the surprise question
Response rates
- Rounds 1 and 2
- 94.9%
- Round 3
- 92.3%
- Forty-one clinical experts were invited, of which 39 agreed to participate
Original publication
Triggers for Serious Illness Conversations in Adults With Congenital Heart Disease. JACC Adv. Published 25 July 2026. doi:10.1016/j.jacadv.2026.103067
Summarised from the published abstract; every number is checked against it