Traumatic Brain Injury Research: A Closer Examination of Outcome Measure Use

Objective(s): To conduct a systematic review of outcome measures currently used in the traumatic brain injury (TBI) scientific literature and to evaluate how they fit within the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) Framework.

Data Sources: Scopus, PubMed, CINAHL, EMBASE and PsycINFO.

Study Selection: Articles published up to and including June 30, 2021 meeting the following criteria were included: (1) human subjects with a mean of ≥18 years old, (2) ≥50% of the sample had moderate to severe TBI, (3) the study design was a randomized controlled trial (RCT), and (4) written in English. Protocols and post-hoc analyses of RCTs were not included.

Data Extraction: Author(s), country, year, and all behavioural outcome measures used within a study were extracted; non-behavioural parameters (e.g., neurophysiological measurements) were not included.

Data Synthesis: A total of 674 RCTs met inclusion. Over 600 outcome measures were identified, with the majority appearing in less than 5 articles. The most commonly used measures included: the Glasgow Coma Scale, the Glasgow Outcome Scale, Injury Severity Score and the Trail Making Test. ICF domains of body function, activities and participation, environmental factors and personal factors were all well covered by the literature; the greatest number of outcome measures fell under ICF Mental Functions.

Conclusions: Given the large number of outcome measures identified, continued efforts should be made in identifying a core set of outcomes to be used in TBI trials. A core set of measures would assist researchers in selecting strong instruments for their trials and allow for consistency and comparisons across the literature.

Author(s) Disclosures: None.