Developing and Refining New Candidate Criteria for SLE Classification: An International Collaboration

We aimed to define candidate criteria within multi-phase development of SLE classification criteria, jointly supported by EULAR and ACR. Prior steps included item generation and reduction by Delphi exercise, further narrowed to 21 items in a Nominal Group Technique exercise. Our objectives were to apply an evidence-based approach to the 21 candidate criteria, and to develop hierarchical organization of criteria within domains