Patient-Reported Outcome Measures in Adults with Hand Trauma: A Systematic Review

Several patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) are available to determine extent and impact of hand injuries, but it is unclear as to which PROM(s) is(are) appropriate. This systematic review aimed to identify PROMs relevant and valid in traumatic hand injuries and examine their psychometric properties. We searched MEDLINE, the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), Cochrane Library, Scopus, PubMed, and Web of Science databases to locate studies published from January 1990 to October 2014 that reported on adults with hand trauma, which included validation testing with the use of a PROM. The initial search strategy resulted in 416 citations, of which we to used eight articles. Nine PROMs were found to be validated in the hand trauma population: Disability of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand (DASH) questionnaire and two variations of the DASH: Manchester-Modified Disability of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand (M2 DASH) and QuickDASH; Michigan Hand Outcomes questionnaire (MHQ); Cold Intolerance Symptom Severity questionnaire (CISS); Cold Sensitivity Severity questionnaire (CSS); Injured Workers Survey (IWS); and Hand Assessment Tool (HAT). Reliability and responsiveness data were also identified. We found that sufficient psychometric results existed only for DASH and MHQ and believe that both should be considered for use with all hand injury cases. CISS or CSS may serve as an adjunctive PROM in geographically cold environments, and the IWS may do so with work-related hand injuries having suspected psychological outcomes.