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Patient-Reported and Clinical Efficacy Measures

John S. Rhee, MD, MPH; Brian T. McMullin, MD

Arch Facial Plast Surg. 2008;10(3):194-207.

Objective  To survey the existing literature to identify, summarize, and evaluate procedure- and condition-specific outcome measures for use in facial plastic and reconstructive surgery.

Methods  A review of the English-language literature was performed to identify outcomes instruments specific for targeted facial plastic surgery interventions and conditions. A search was performed using MEDLINE (1950 to September 2007), CINAHL (Cumulative Index to Nursing & Allied Health) (1982 to September 2007), and PsychINFO (1806 to September 2007). Outcomes instruments were categorized as patient-reported or clinical efficacy measures (observer-reported or objective measures). Instruments were then categorized to include relevant details on the intervention, degree of validation, and subsequent use.

Results  Sixty-eight distinct instruments were identified (23 patient-reported, 35 observer-reported, and 10 objective measures), with some overlap among categories. Most patient-reported measures (76%) and half observer-reported instruments (51%) were developed in the past 10 years. The rigor of validation varied widely among measures, with formal validation being most common among the patient-reported outcome measures.

Conclusions  Validated outcomes measures are present for many common facial plastic surgery conditions and have become more prevalent during the past decade, especially for patient-reported outcomes. Challenges remain in harmonizing patient-reported, observer-based, and other objective measures to produce standardized clinically meaningful outcome measures.

Author Affiliations: Department of Otolaryngology and Communication Sciences, Medical College of Wisconsin, and the Zablocki Veteran Affairs Medical Center, Milwaukee.

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