Consensus on appropriate outcome measures to use in aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) research has not been established, although the transition toward a core outcome set (COS) would provide significant benefits. To inform COS development, we conducted a systematic review to identify outcome measures included in reports of randomized clinical trials (RCTs) of interventions in patients with aSAH. Ovid Medline, EMBASE, CINAHL, and CENTRAL were searched. RCTs investigating aSAH published between January 1996 and May 2015 were included. The primary and secondary outcomes of RCTs were recorded and classified according to the OMERACT Consortium’s framework. We identified 1093 potential studies of which 129 met inclusion criteria representing 24 238 patients. There were 285 unique outcome measures. The Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS) was the most frequently used primary outcome (13/129, 10.1%). Mortality was reported in 84 trials (65.1%) with 3 months the most common time point (34/129, 26.4%). The GOS (65/129, 50.4%) and the Modified Rankin Scale (51/129, 39.5%) were the most commonly reported functional measures; however, these were reported at different time points and often dichotomized using different ranges. Patient-reported quality of life measures were used in 11 trials (8.5%). Transcranial Doppler was the most frequently used imaging modality (40/129, 31.0%). Definitions and reporting of vasospasm, delayed cerebral ischemia and imaging modality results were highly variable. The marked heterogeneity of outcomes in reports of RCTs supports the development of a core outcome set for aSAH trials. Our study has identified a wide range of outcomes for potential inclusion in a future aSAH COS.
AimThis systematic review aims to assist future researchers regarding their choice of outcome instruments and represents the early stages of development of a COS in aSAH
ContributorsChristopher R. Andersen, Emily Fitzgerald, Anthony Delaney, and Simon Finfer
Disease Category: Neurology
Disease Name: Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Haemorrhage
Age Range: Unknown
Sex: Either
Nature of Intervention: Any
- Systematic review of outcomes measured in trials
- Systematic review
The search strategy was performed in May 2015 and used the following electronic databases: Ovid Medline, Excerpta Medica dataBASE (EMBASE), Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL). Included studies were published from January 1996, which correspond with the publication of the first CONSORT document