Outcome measurement instruments for erythema associated with incontinence-associated dermatitis: Systematic review

To: (a) examine which outcome measurement instruments for erythema associated with incontinence-associated dermatitis (IAD) with supporting evidence about measurement properties are available; (b) evaluate the methodological quality of the studies and the quality of the measurement properties; and (c) identify eligible instruments to measure erythema in incontinence-associated dermatitis research.

Systematic review.

MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL and CENTRAL were systematically searched until July 2018 (update December 2018). Additional input was gathered from 151 incontinence-associated dermatitis experts. Cited and citing references of included studies were screened.

The COSMIN Risk of Bias checklist was applied to evaluate the methodological quality of the studies. Reported measurement properties were rated against criteria for good measurement properties.

Fourteen studies, describing 10 measurement instruments, were included. In five instruments, erythema was captured as a separate concept, two studies provided empirical evidence about the measurement properties. The most studied measurement properties were reliability (9 studies), measurement error (4 studies) and criterion validity (4 studies). In one study, internal consistency was examined.

No instrument measuring exclusively erythema associated with incontinence-associated dermatitis exists. There is no single composite incontinence-associated dermatitis measurement instrument that outperforms others. Development or adaption of an instrument to measure erythema associated with incontinence-associated dermatitis is one option to solve this challenge.

The evidence about measurement properties of instruments measuring erythema associated with incontinence-associated dermatitis has not been summarized to date. The lack of an instrument should trigger activities to measure this domain accurately in future clinical trials.