Long-term patient-reported outcome measures after injury: National Trauma Research Action Plan (NTRAP) scoping review protocol

Abstract

BackgroundA significant proportion of patients who survive traumatic injury continue to suffer impaired functional status and increased mortality long after discharge. However, despite the need to improve long-term outcomes, trauma registries in the USA do not collect data on outcomes or care processes after discharge. One of the main barriers is the lack of consensus regarding the optimal outcome metrics.ObjectivesTo describe the methodology of a scoping review evaluating current evidence on the available measures for tracking functional and patient-reported outcomes after injury. The aim of the review was to identify and summarize measures that are being used to track long-term functional recovery and patient-reported outcomes among adults after injury.MethodsA systematic search of PubMed and Embase will be performed using the search terms for the population (adult trauma patients), type of outcomes (long-term physical, mental, cognitive, and quality of life), and measures available to track them. Studies identified will be reviewed and assessed for relevance by at least two reviewers. Data will be extracted and summarized using descriptive statistics and a narrative synthesis of the results. This protocol is being reported in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) guidelines.DisseminationThis scoping review will provide information regarding the currently available metrics for tracking functional and patient-reported outcomes after injury. The review will be presented to a multi-disciplinary stakeholder group that will evaluate these outcome metrics using an online Delphi approach to achieve consensus as part of the development of the National Trauma Research Action Plan (NTRAP). The results of this review will be presented at relevant national surgical conferences and published in peer-reviewed scientific journals.

Developing a National Trauma Research Action Plan: Results from the geriatric research gap Delphi survey

“…This finding further supports the NTRAP's emphasis on patient-reported outcomes (PROs) and the identification of outcome measures that are best fit for each group of patients, PRO measures (PROMS). In a scoping review of 747 research articles, the NTRAP investigator group found a large number of PROMS for measuring PROs after injury, but efforts to comprehensively understand the health outcomes of trauma patients are insufficient 34 . The lack of consensus on a defined set of PROs at the national level creates inconsistencies in establishing benchmarks for measuring outcomes across institutions and various injury types 34 .…”

Long-term Outcomes of Firearm Injury Survivors in the United States

“…This scoping review is not without limitations and must be interpreted in the context of its design. This study began as a subset analysis from a broader systematic review 16 that included literature on long-term outcome assessment for all types of physical injury. This factor may have reduced the specificity of the search strategy.…”

Long-term patient-reported outcomes and patient-reported outcome measures after injury: the National Trauma Research Action Plan (NTRAP) scoping review

“…The final protocol was published and made available online on May 28, 2020 in Trauma Surgery & Acute Care Open journal ( https://tsaco.bmj.com/content/5/1/e000512 ). 16 The protocol was disseminated through the Coalition for National Trauma Research twitter account (@NatTrauma).…”