DELPHI AS A METHODOLOGICAL ALTERNATIVE FOR RESEARCH IN SOCIAL SCIENCES: AN EXPERIENCE ON COLLABORATIVE CONSUMPTION

Created in the 1950s from aerospace research, the Delphi method has been gaining diversity in its uses and models. The purpose of this article is to reflect on Delphi as a methodological alternative in the field of social sciences, analyzing its possibilities and challenges based on a research on collaborative consumption. The results showed depth in the identification of drivers and inhibitors of collaborative consumption in multiple dimensions (legal, business, technological and socio-cultural). The study concluded that the Delphi method proves to be current, innovative, and pertinent to contemporary social research due to its prospective capacity in complex contexts;lack of presence (mainly due to the increase in remote connections evidenced from the Covid-19 pandemic), collective and iterative construction of knowledge;reduction of hierarchies and participation of specialists. The challenges are the long research process and the choice of specialists (either due to homogeneity or the diversity between them).

Tocilizumab in COVID-19 interstitial pneumonia.

BACKGROUND: Published reports on tocilizumab in COVID-19 pneumonitis show conflicting results due to weak designs or heterogeneity in critical methodological issues. METHODS: This open-label trial, structured according to Simon's optimal design, aims to identify factors predicting which patients could benefit from anti-IL6 strategies and to enhance the design of unequivocal and reliable future randomized trials. A total of 46 patients with COVID-19 pneumonia needing of oxygen therapy to maintain SO2 > 93% and with recent worsening of lung function received a single infusion of tocilizumab. Clinical and biological markers were measured to test their predictive values. Primary end point was early and sustained clinical response. RESULTS: Twenty-one patients fulfilled pre-defined response criteria. Lower levels of IL-6 at 24 h after tocilizumab infusion (P = 0.049) and higher baseline values of PaO2/FiO2 (P = 0.008) predicted a favourable response. CONCLUSIONS: Objective clinical response rate overcame the pre-defined threshold of 30%. Efficacy of tocilizumab to improve respiratory function in patients selected according to our inclusion criteria warrants investigations in randomized trials.