Systematic Review on the Content of Outcome Measurement Instruments on Scar Quality

Abstract

A systematic search was performed in PubMed and Embase.com up to October 31, 2018. All original studies reporting on instruments that measured at least 1 characteristic of scar quality were included and the instrument's content was extracted. We included 440 studies for data extraction. Included instruments (N = 909) were clinician-reported scales (41%), measurement devices (30%), patient-reported scales (26%), and combined clinician- and patient-reported scales (3%). The Observer scale of the Patient and Observer Scar Assessment Scale, the Cutometer, the Patient Scale of the Patient and Observer Scar Assessment Scale, and the modified Vancouver Scar Scale were the most often used instrument in each of these categories, respectively. The most frequent assessed items were thickness, vascularity, pigmentation, pliability, pain, and itch. The results of this study lay the foundation for our future research, which includes an international Delphi study among many scar experts, and an international focus group study among scar patients, aiming to elucidate how scar quality must be defined and measured from both professional and patient perspectives.