[Establishment of a topographic map assessment system for facial and cervical wounds and scars of burn patients based on the Delphi method].

Objective: To construct a targeted and accurate evaluation system for facial and cervical wounds and scars of burn patients. Methods: The method combining literature analysis and survey research was adopted, and the basic principles of item system construction were followed. From June to August 2020, based on the aesthetic standards of facial and cervical plastic surgery, the topographic map assessment system for facial and cervical wounds and scars of burn patients was preliminarily formed, focusing on the assessment of wounds and scars in the necks and faces of patients after burns. In September 2020, 38 experts in the relevant fields were consulted in advance and the questionnaire was revised according to the experts' opinions. From December 2020 to March 2021, the Delphi method was applied to conduct inquiry by correspondence with 35 experts in relevant fields from Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Shanghai, Beijing, and other cities, who met the inclusion criteria, and the items were screened and established. The effective recovery rate of inquiry questionnaire was calculated to determine the level of enthusiasm of experts, the average authority coefficient of all items was calculated to determine the level of expert authority, the average importance expert score, the average coefficient of variation, and the average full score rate of all the third-level items were calculated to determine the concentration of expert opinions, the average coefficients of variation and Kendall's harmony coefficients of the importance, sensitivity, and operability expert scores of all the third-level items were calculated to determine the degree of coordination of expert opinions. The Kendall's harmony coefficients for the importance, sensitivity, and operability expert scores of all the third-level items were statistically analyzed with chi-square test. Results: Among the 35 experts consulted by Delphi method, mainly were male, aged (48±10) years, with 8-38 years of working experience, mainly with associate senior titles and above, all with a bachelor's degree or above education background, and of whom 11 were burn experts, 7 were wound repair experts, 4 were plastic surgery experts, and 13 were rehabilitation medicine experts. Finally, a topographic map assessment system for facial and cervical wounds and scars of burn patients was formed, including 4 first-level items, 21 second-level items, 40 third-level items, and 1 mask. The effective recovery rate of inquiry questionnaire was 100% (35/35). The average authority coefficient of all items was 0.89. The average importance expert score was 4.67, the average coefficient of variation of importance expert score was 0.01, and the average full score rate of all the third-level items was 86.3%. The average coefficients of variation of the importance, sensitivity, and operability expert scores of all the third-level items were 0.01, 0.01, and 0.02, respectively. The Kendall's harmony coefficients for the importance, sensitivity, and operability expert scores of all the third-level items were statistically significant (with χ² values of 1 201.53, 745.67, and 707.07, respectively, P<0.05). Conclusions: The established topographic map assessment system for facial and cervical wounds and scars of burn patients has high scientificity and reliability, which can be used for the evaluation of facial and neck wounds or scars in burn patients.