A Narrative Review of Patient-Reported Outcome Measures and Their Application in Recent Pediatric Surgical Research: Advancing Knowledge and Offering New Perspectives to the Field.

Introduction

 Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) can be employed in both research and clinical care to enhance our understanding of outcomes that matter to patients. This narrative review aims to describe PROM use in recent pediatric surgical research, identify and describe psychometrically robust PROMs, providing an overview of those derived from pediatric patient input, and make recommendations for future research.

Materials and methods

 A search was conducted to identify articles published from 2021 to August 2023 describing the availability and/or use of at least one valid or reliable PROM in children with conditions including anorectal malformations, biliary atresia, congenital diaphragmatic hernia, duodenal atresia, esophageal atresia, abdominal wall defects, Hirschsprung's disease, sacrococcygeal teratoma, and short bowel syndrome. Articles were categorized based on their objectives in applying PROMs. Psychometrically robust PROMs were identified and described.

Results

 Out of the 345 articles identified, 49 met the inclusion criteria. Seventeen focused on esophageal atresia and 14 on Hirschsprung's disease. Twenty-nine PROMs were identified, with 12 deemed psychometrically robust. Seven psychometrically robust PROMs were developed using patient input in the primary item generation. Most PROMs were applied to advance understanding of conditions and/or treatment and fewer were developed or psychometrically evaluated. No PROMs were assessed for their impact or incorporated into an implementation study.

Conclusions

 This review reveals gaps in the application of PROMs in recent pediatric surgical research. Emphasis should be placed on the development and utilization of psychometrically robust PROMs, broadening the scope of covered diseases, conducting impact assessments, and evaluating implementation strategies.

The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, permitting unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction so long as the original work is properly cited. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

Overview publication

TitleA Narrative Review of Patient-Reported Outcome Measures and Their Application in Recent Pediatric Surgical Research: Advancing Knowledge and Offering New Perspectives to the Field.
Date2024-04-01
Issue nameEuropean journal of pediatric surgery : official journal of Austrian Association of Pediatric Surgery ... [et al] = Zeitschrift fur Kinderchirurgie
Issue numberv34.2:143-161
DOI10.1055/s-0043-1778108
PubMed38272041
AuthorsSpivack OKC, Dellenmark-Blom M, Dingemann J, Ten Kate CA, Wallace V, Bramer WM, Quitmann JH & Rietman A
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