Systematic review of measures and their concepts used in published studies focusing on the treatment of acute inflammatory arthritis.

To identify outcome measures and concepts cited in published studies focusing on the treatment of acute inflammatory arthritis, and to identify and quantify the concepts contained in these measures using the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) as a reference. This 'research perspective' is part of the development process for an ICF core set in acute arthritis. Electronic searches of Medline, Embase, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Pedro and the Cochrane Library from January 2000 to July 2004 were carried out. Data on the outcome measures and patient characteristics for the included studies were extracted. The items of the identified questionnaires and their underlying concepts were specified and then linked to ICF categories using standardized linkage rules. From the 401 abstracts retrieved, 104 studies met the inclusion criteria. From these studies, 38 formal assessment instruments, 62 single clinical measures, 66 technical measures and 14 clinical criteria were identified. A total of 966 concepts were extracted, and 84.7% of these concepts could be linked to ICF categories. The concepts contained in measures named in more than 5% of the studies were represented by 34 second-level ICF categories. Ten (30%) of the 34 categories belong to the component "Body Functions", 3 (9%) to the component "Body Structures" and 21 (61%) to the component "Activities and Participation". The ICF provides a valuable reference to identify and quantify the concepts of outcome measures focusing on the management of patients with acute inflammatory arthritis. Our findings indicate there is good agreement on 'what should be measured' in acute inflammatory arthritis to allow for a comparison of patient populations.