What domains of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health are covered by the most commonly used measurement instruments in traumatic brain injury research?

OBJECTIVE: To identify the most frequently used outcome measurement instruments reported in clinical studies on TBI and to provide a content comparison in the framework of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF). PATIENTS AND METHODS: A systematic literature review of clinical studies in TBI was performed using Medline, EMBASE and PsychINFO. The items of the measurement instruments present in more than 20% of the studies were linked to the ICF language.
RESULTS: 193 papers fulfilled the eligibility criteria. The frequency analysis identified six instruments: Functional Independence Measure (50%), Glasgow Outcome Scale (34%), Disability Rating Scale (32%), Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (29%), Trail Making Test (26%) and Community Integration Questionnaire (22%). The analysed instruments focus on different aspects of body functions (especially DRS, WAIS and TMT) and aspects of activities and participation in life (especially CIQ and FIM). Inter-researcher agreement for the ICF linking process was 0.83.
CONCLUSIONS: Translating the items of different measurement instruments into the ICF language provides a practical tool to facilitate content comparisons among different outcome measures. The comparison can assist clinical researchers to integrate information acquired from different studies and different tools.