[Prioritisation of topics for systematic reviews in hand surgery. Results of an expert survey].

BACKGROUND

Systematic reviews are fundamental decision-making tools for the assessment of the effectiveness of healthcare interventions and for determining future research fields. In the field of hand surgery, so far, there exists only a limited number of systematic reviews. According to the diversity and multitude of hand surgical topics, relevant fields for systematic reviews were identified by means of an expert ranking.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

A catalogue of 24 topics was extracted from publications of representative hand surgical journals. These topics were categorized and integrated into a questionnaire which was presented to 30 experts in the field of hand surgery. Every single topic had to be rated by marks from 1 (very relevant) to 5 (not relevant). Further topics could have been indicated. Averaging of the marks allowed to define a ranking and a prioritisation of the topics.

RESULTS

29 of 30 questionnaires were returned. The ranking showed scapholunate ligament injury, Kienboeck's disease and scaphoid nonunion to have the highest relevance, followed by 5 other topics dealing with wrist problems. The lowest relevance was attributed to neck fractures of the fifth metacarpal, ulnar collateral ligament injury of the thumb metacarpophalangeal joint and postoperative management following replantation.

CONCLUSION

The results of the presented survey allow for a prioritisation of topics for systematic reviews in hand surgery. The ranking of the topics emphasises the particular relevance of injuries and diseases of the wrist.