The development of a data dictionary with clinical variables for artificial intelligence-driven tools in research on abdominal aortic aneurysms and peripheral arterial disease

Patients with abdominal aortic aneurysms and peripheral arterial disease (arterial vascular diseases) carry a high disease burden and are likely to experience cardiovascular events. Novel strategies using artificial intelligence could identify which patients with arterial vascular diseases are at high risk of cardiovascular disease progression. Structured data dictionaries are needed to ensure high-quality, unbiased, and ethically sound data input for artificial intelligence models. The aim of this study was to obtain expert consensus-based data dictionaries that adhere to applicable ethical guidelines to support research on arterial vascular diseases.

The data dictionaries were created through a modified Delphi approach to achieve consensus among key opinion leaders in the cardiovascular field. First, data requirements were defined and variable longlists were created per disease through a literature review. Secondly, written feedback rounds were held. Lastly, face-to-face meetings were held to establish consensus on the final data dictionaries. During the whole process, ethical and legal experts on trustworthy artificial intelligence were involved to ensure adherence to corresponding guidelines and laws. The aneurysm data dictionary contains 312 variables, and the peripheral arterial disease data dictionary contains 325 variables. A total of 16 clinical experts were involved in the creation, including 12 vascular surgeons, two vascular medicine specialists, one cardiologist, and one gastroenterology surgeon and digital health expert.

Two expert consensus-based data dictionaries for use in clinical and artificial intelligence research on arterial vascular diseases were created, developed for application in research on predicting disease progression and cardiovascular risk.