title: Identifying the most important outcomes for systematic reviews of interventions for rhinosinusitis in adults: working with Patients, Public and Practitioners.
abstract: Promoting the assessment of health interventions using outcomes that matter to patients and practitioners is a key principle of Cochrane. Cochrane UK therefore commissioned the OMIPP project: Outcomes that are Most Important for Patients, Public and Practitioners to identify the outcomes they felt most important and should be evaluated in Cochrane reviews of health interventions for Chronic Rhinosinusitis (CRS).
  
  
  
  Using direct emailing, social media and printed cards, an online survey was distributed to a wide range of people involved in the care of patients with CRS. Patients and practitioners were asked to list the 3 outcomes from treatments most important to them. Responses were analysed through development of a thematic framework based on the data.
  
  
  
  Two hundred and thirty-five people completed the survey; 155 practitioners and 80 patients. Respondents provided 653 suggestions of important outcomes. 73% concerned symptoms of CRS, (nasal discharge or drip, facial pain, nasal blockage, headache, impaired sense of smell, congestion and breathing difficulties); 9% concerned quality of life, 4% reducing the need for further treatment and 4% side effects of treatment. Objective measurements of disease formed only 3% of responses. There was high level of agreement between patients and practitioners. Of 10 current Cochrane reviews on CRS, 9 include symptomatic outcomes identified by our survey as most important to patients and healthcare practitioners.
  
  
  
  We have identified outcomes that both patients and their doctors consider should be included in reviews evaluating treatments of rhinosinusitis. We recommend that primary outcomes in future reviews focus on symptom-based outcomes. The ability to extract these data from relevant trials is dependent upon their inclusion in trials, and so it is important that building on this work a core outcome set for rhinosinusitis research is developed.
authors.affiliation: Guys and St Thomas NHS Trust, Kings College London, London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Claire
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hopkins
authors.affiliation: University East Anglia, Norwich and James Paget Hospital, Great Yarmouth, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Carl
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Philpott
authors.affiliation: Crowe Associates, Thame, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Sally
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Crowe
authors.affiliation: Crowe Associates, Thame, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Regan
authors.affiliation: UCL Ear Institute, Royal National Throat, Nose and Ear Hospital, London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Aneeka
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Degun
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Health Research, UCL, London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Iliatha
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Papachristou
authors.affiliation: UCL Ear Institute, Royal National Throat, Nose and Ear Hospital, London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Anne G M
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Schilder
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D012196:Review Literature as Topic; D012852:Sinusitis / Q000628:therapy*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires