Utilization of patient reported outcomes measurement information system in plastic and reconstructive surgery research.

[BACKGROUND] The patient-reported outcomes measurement information system (PROMIS) was developed by investigators funded by the National Institutes of Health as a standardized means of directly assessing the patients' perspectives across domains. PROMIS domains include physical function, pain, fatigue, emotional distress, and social health. Various studies have reported increased utilization of PROMIS in research articles in specific specialties; however, the extent to which PROMIS has been employed in the field of plastic and reconstructive surgery remains unclear. The goal of the present study was to characterize the prevalence and trends of PROMIS within plastic and reconstructive surgery articles.

[METHODS] Literature search was conducted across multiple databases for PROMIS studies within plastic surgery literature. We identified 136 articles and the following data were extracted: author name, journal, impact factor, country of origin, year of publication, publication type, subspecialty, study size, and PROMIS measures used.

[RESULTS] In this study, 136 studies met the inclusion criteria. There was an overall increasing trend in the number of PROMIS studies published. The most common subspecialties that used PROMIS measures were general reconstruction (n = 24), hand (n = 9), and burn (n = 5). The most used PROMIS measures were the pain interference (n = 26), pain intensity (n = 15), and depression (n = 13). A total of 24 journals included PROMIS studies with a mean impact factor of 3.73 (SD = 3.2). The most common country of origin was the United States (n = 42).

[CONCLUSION] The data demonstrated an increasing use of PROMIS within plastic surgery across a wide variety of subspecialities and study designs. The characterization of these trends allows researchers and clinicians alike to gain a greater understanding of this powerful tool in measuring patient care.