Patient-Reported Outcome Measure Use in Guidelines Published by the American Academy of Ophthalmology: A Review

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Clinical Practice Guidelines
• Patient-Reported Outcome Measures

Background:

• Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) assess patient health status and quality of life.
• PROMs are increasingly utilized in ophthalmology research to inform study endpoints.
• The integration of PROMs into clinical management recommendations within guidelines requires further evidence.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the utilization of PROMs in ophthalmology Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPGs) from the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO).
• To assess how often PROMs inform treatment recommendations within AAO CPGs and their cited literature.

Main Methods:

• Systematic review of all AAO CPGs and their cited primary/secondary studies up to June 2022.
• Analysis of the frequency of PROM use and interpretation using minimal important difference (MID).
• Assessment of guideline quality using AGREE II and adherence to PRISMA guidelines.

Main Results:

• Of 24 CPGs, 10 (41.7%) considered PROMs, informing 33% of recommendations.
• PROMs were used as outcomes in 9.0% of cited studies.
• Only 1.8% of PROM results were interpreted using an MID.

Conclusions:

• PROMs are infrequently incorporated into ophthalmology CPGs and cited research.
• Interpretation of PROM data using MIDs is rare.
• Guideline developers should consider integrating PROMs and MIDs to improve patient care recommendations.